New fuel-economy rules coming down the pike are likely to displease pretty much everyone, if a public hearing held Monday is any indication. In the current proposal from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, auto manufacturers must achieve a fleet-wide average fuel economy of at least 31.6 miles per gallon by 2015 -- a jump from 25 mpg today, and a step toward Congress' target of at least 35 mpg by 2020. But Big Auto, shaken by the shaky economy, has backed off its previous support for the standards. Ford's CEO laments a lack of "adequate resources or lead time"; Toyota now says the proposed regulations are "substantially front-loaded"; and the Alliance for Automobile Manufacturers says the timeline isn't "technologically feasible" or "economically practicable." (The comments are aimed at the 2015 timeline; manufacturers say they continue to support reaching 35 mpg by 2020.) For their part, greens say the proposal is too lax, noting that NHTSA's calculations unrealistically assume that gas will be $2.25 a gallon in 2015.
‘Copenhagen Diagnosis’ offers a grim update to the IPCC’s climate science
Capturing the massive social benefits of fuel efficiency requires regulation
Copenhagen talks ready for take off: 5, 4, 3…
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Wolverine Posted 4:59 am
05 Aug 2008
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tismeinaz Posted 10:02 am
05 Aug 2008
Lack of lead time - is he kidding? They've had 35+ years of lead time.
the Alliance for Automobile Manufacturers says the timeline isn't "technologically feasible" or "economically practicable."
If they had been busting their buts for the last 35 years instead of wasting time making them bigger and more wasteful - just think what we would have now. They stuck their heads in the sand and it is everyone else's fault.
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guade00 Posted 2:29 pm
05 Aug 2008
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christophersj Posted 3:21 pm
05 Aug 2008
What is Ford talking about? They have an SUV that gets 34 mpg in the city right now and is ready for plug-in conversion, right now! The Escape Hybrid.
And Toyota? Oh yeah, Toyota was suing California too. Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde. They can't even make an effective hybrid SUV. The Highlander Hybrid gets 10 mpg less than the Ford around the same size. Wha???
Lease the Lithum-Ions and sell us the plug-in vehicles. Let's get moving!
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Cacaoatl Posted 7:13 pm
05 Aug 2008
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archigeek Posted 2:15 am
06 Aug 2008
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GoodCheer Posted 4:22 am
06 Aug 2008
Does the regulation really matter? The price of gas may drop... to $100/barrel or $3/gal, but that will be the anomaly in the future. Do the automakers think that Americans so quickly forget what can happen? Will China stop growing at 11%/year?
It took 20 years after the oil shocks of the 70's for us to start thinking 10mpg was workable again. 20 years from now America will be just another player in the global petroleum market, and the supply will be much tighter (and harder to get to).
Your thoughts?
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christophersj Posted 5:34 am
06 Aug 2008
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Vladilyich Posted 8:46 am
06 Aug 2008
I've recently built a Brown's Gas (HHO or dihydrogen monoxide, water gas) Injector for my 1997 Buick Skylark that has 187,000 miles on it. I am now averaging 40MPG. It cost me $15 in parts. I burn water and emit no pollutants. In fact, the water in the exhaust absorbs NOx and CO2.
There's no excuse for Detroit's position.
Rudolph Diesel designed his engine to burn vegetable oil, not petroleum. It still will. My son works for a restaurant and fills up nightly with used vegetable deep fryer grease. He's done this for years (and fills up at a McDonald's in Bridgeport, CT, when he drives to Boston).
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