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More Fuel Efficient Cars
The White House announced new fuel-efficiency standards on Tuesday.
By Christy Harvey, Mic Check Radio
May 20, 2009
(Flickr/Yodel Anecdotal)
President Barack Obama Tuesday announced new fuel standards for American cars. (In technical terms, he is raising the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards.) It’s the first time there’s been a national standard for all 50 states; the new standards are close to the stricter standards wanted by California and 13 other states.
Know Five Things
1. The New Standards
- The Obama Plan will be a single new national standard for all cars and light trucks. [NY Times]
- The standard will be almost 40% cleaner/ more fuel-efficient by 2016 than it is today.
- Cars will be required to get an average 35.5 miles per gallon (similar to the goal of the California plan); the current standard is 25 miles per gallon.
2. The Effect
- The effect of the new changes (compared to current pollution levels and vehicle use) will be the same as removing 900 million metric tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
- ...as taking 177 million cars off of the road.
- ...as shutting down 194 coal-fired plants.
- The effect will also “save 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the lifetime of the vehicles sold in the next five years — more oil than the United States imported last year from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Libya and Nigeria combined.” [Washington Post]
3. Spend A Little, Save A Lot
- Consumers will pay roughly $1,300 more per car under the new standard.
- Consumers will make up that difference within three years, thanks to fewer trips to the pump.
- The average American driver will end up saving about $2,800 over the life of their car. [ABC News]
4. The New Standards Are Backed By The Car Industry
- The standards are backed by 10 car companies plus the United Auto Workers union. [USA Today]
- The car industry likes it because it actually saves them money. “For the industry, it means a single standard rather than a federal rule plus various set by individual states — a much costlier approach for the industry. Automakers also get a bit more flexibility than under the California approach.
5. Car Companies Are Closer Than You Might Think Already
- Car companies say that, for 2009, new car models actually average 32.6 miles per gallon (well above the current 27.5 mpg standard.) [MSNBC]
- Example: General Motors. The car company says that, in 2008, its cars got an average of 29.7 miles a gallon, higher than the 27.5 requirement; its new trucks got 23.2 mpg, higher than the 22.6 mpg requirement for last year. [Washington Post]
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