Corporate Average Fuel Economy
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A pair of U.S. federal agencies said yesterday that while automakers had complied with the first five years of stricter fuel-efficiency laws, the industry seemed unlikely to meet 2025 targets for improving gas mileage. Rather than hitting the projected 54.5-mpg Corporate Average Fuel Economy—which translates to about 38 mpg on new-car window stickers—the EPA and NHTSA estimated that the average would come in at about 50 mpg. A continuation of currently cheap gasoline prices and a profound consumer shift from passenger cars to light trucks, mostly utility vehicles, would prevent...
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Start-stop systems to be offered on all GM vehicles by 2020
General Motors reportedly plans to offer start-stop on at least one powertrain in every model by 2020.
Stephen Edelstein -
How CAFE works: 5 things you should know about gas-mileage standards
As automakers and policy wonks fret and fuss over future fuel economy standards, interested spectators may be lost in the fumes. What exactly are Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards, and what's important to know about them? The CAFE rules have many layers and facets—far too many to put...
Aaron Cole -
Buying an electric car can increase fuel use allowed by CAFE rules
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University say incentives to sell alternative-fuel vehicle in federal laws could potentially create a short-term rise in fuel consumption and emissions from major automakers' new vehicles. Professors Jeremy Michalek, Ines Azevedo, and Alan Jenn studied Corporate...
Aaron Cole -
Carmakers continue to meet rising CAFE goals, just as expected
Carmakers are on track to meet the CAFE standard of 54.5 mpg, a CFA study says.
Stephen Edelstein -
Will Tighter CAFE Rules Bring More Trucks, Fewer Small Cars?
The entire auto industry was startled when Fiat Chrysler said two weeks ago it would end production of its Dodge Dart compact car and its Chrysler 200 mid-size sedan. The company intends to use the plant capacity freed up to build more light trucks, meaning its popular crossover utilities and...
John Voelcker -
Allen Schaeffer probably doesn't have the easiest job these days. He's executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of diesel engines, fuel, and technology. With the Volkswagen diesel-emission scandal soon to enter its sixth month with no signs of resolution, Green Car Reports reached out to Schaeffer for his take on the state of diesels in the U.S. DON'T MISS: VW To Release Diesel Cheating Report April 21, Annual Meeting Postponed "There's no question that the VW situation hit the pause button on the diesel...
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Will Cheap Gas, Soaring SUV Sales Sink Fuel-Economy Goals?
Consumers are turning away from fuel-efficient cars as gas remains cheap.
Stephen Edelstein -
Miles Driven In U.S. Hits New All-Time High; Gasoline Used Doesn't
U.S. vehicle-miles traveled continues to climb, but gasoline use stays fairly consistent.
Stephen Edelstein -
VW: $50 Million In Tax Credits, Wanted Electric-Car Credits For Diesels Too
Buyers of various Volkswagen TDI diesel vehicles took about $50 million in Federal income-tax credits in 2009 for the purchase of their supposedly green car. With Michael Horn, CEO of VW Group of America, testifying to Congress today, those credits--and whether the Federal government should be...
John Voelcker -
Automakers Mull Gorilla Glass To Save Weight In Windows, Boost Fuel Economy
Corning hopes its Gorilla Glass could be used to a greater degree in cars.
Stephen Edelstein -
Some Cars Today Already Meet 2025 Gas-Mileage Standards: Did You Know?
With a midterm review coming up to look at progress on meeting Corporate Average Fuel Economy regulations so far, you can expect some gloom and doom from automakers. Still, industry consensus says the second half of the standards, for model years 2018 to 2025, won't change in a major way. The...
John Voelcker -
With the approaching midterm review of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy rules coming up in the next two years, automakers and advocates are positioning themselves to lobby for changes to the rules. Auto companies are preparing to push aggressively not only to have those rules tweaked, relaxed, or delayed, but to do the same to California's zero-emission vehicle requirements. DON'T MISS: Fuel-Economy Rules Likely To Stay Put Through Midterm Review: Consensus The problem, makers say, is that with gasoline prices currently low and the fuel efficiency of all vehicles rising steadily under five...
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Why Higher Gas Taxes Would Have Been Best Way To Save Fuel
It's now a widely-accepted tenet of today's U.S. political landscape: You just can't come out and advocate for higher taxes. For any purpose, under any circumstances, no matter what the end purposes. Any politician who does so will be punished by voters. DON'T MISS: Low Gas Price An Opportunity For...
John Voelcker -
Let's Be Clear: Real 2025 Gas-Mileage Goal Is 40 MPG--Or So--Not 54.5 MPG
The difference between unadjusted CAFE figures and window-sticker fuel economy.
Stephen Edelstein -
Ford Patent For 11-Speed Automatic: Transmission Wars Escalate
Time was that the most gears you could get in an automatic transmission was three or four. Then came five- and six-speed automatics, which are now pretty much the standard (along with increasingly prevalent continuously variable transmissions, or CVTs). But the transmission wars have continued to...
John Voelcker -
How A Chevy Camaro Gets Greener: Student Competition In EcoCar 3
All cars are getting more fuel-efficient under the rising requirements for corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) from now through 2025. Still, if you thought about the category of cars with good gas mileage, the Chevrolet Camaro muscle car likely wouldn't be high on your list. DON'T MISS: How Do...
John Voelcker -
EPA Insider: Agency Bluffed Carmakers To Get CAFE Standards
The EPA initially asked for higher truck fuel-economy than it actually wanted, a new book claims.
Stephen Edelstein -
The idea of an all-electric Nissan BladeGlider sports car now seems to be somewhere between delayed and defunct, but the narrow-front delta-wing shape continues to intrigue and challenge vehicle designers. First unveiled in 2010 as a pure race car, an engine-driven DeltaWing car even competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans back in 2012. Recently, an offshoot of the DeltaWing racing operation proposed a road-going four-seat version of the car, equipped with such mundane passenger-car equipment as conventional hinged doors. DON'T MISS: Nissan BladeGlider Concept: Electric Delta Wing Racer For The...
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Gas Mileage Rules For 2025 Could Be Lowered If Buyers Stick With SUVs
Thus far, automakers appear to have had little trouble meeting the corporate average fuel economy rules that started for 2012 vehicle and will rise steadily through 2025. The general consensus so far is that carmakers have been able to raise their EPA ratings with a combination of tactics that...
John Voelcker -
Should Safer Cars Get Credit For More MPG? Automaker Trade Group Says Yes
As corporate average fuel economy standards continue to tighten each year, car companies have so far kept pace with the rising gas-mileage rules. But automakers are seeking credit for every possible advancement in new vehicles as they look toward an average goal of 54.5 mpg in 2025 (roughly...
John Voelcker -
Chrysler CEO: Industry Can Meet MPG Targets, But They Should Be Delayed
Sergio Marchionne, CEO of newly merged Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, is not a man to mince words. While carmakers can meet fuel-economy requirements for 2025, he said last week, he slammed government efforts to boost plug-in electric cars. The industry will find the most cost-effective way to meet...
John Voelcker -
Fuel-Economy Rules Likely To Stay Put Through Midterm Review: Consensus
Gas prices have fallen 40 percent in a year. Sales of SUVs and crossover utility vehicles are up, while hybrid sales are flat or falling. And a midterm review is coming up, giving auto companies a chance to argue that the corporate average fuel economy rules that stretch out to 2025 need to be...
John Voelcker -
More EPA Gas-Mileage Rating 'Adjustments' To Come In New Year?
First Hyundai and Kia cut fuel-economy ratings on a dozen models, then Ford on the C-Max. Then, Ford cut ratings on the C-Max again, along with those of five more models. Are there more to come? Industry sources have quietly been discussing in recent weeks that more adjustments to EPA gas-mileage...
John Voelcker