EPA
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It's the last piece of information on the new and updated 2013 Nissan Leaf electric car that everyone's been waiting for: its range. The projected number, Nissan says, is 75 miles--but that shouldn't be compared to the 73-mile range of the 2011 and 2012 Leaf models. That's because the EPA changed the test procedures it uses to calculates range for electric cars for the 2013 model year. Before this year, the range estimate assumed a battery pack that was charged to 100 percent of its capacity. Many electric cars--the Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model S among them--offer owners the ability to limit...
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Gas Mileage Of New Cars Sold In Jan: 24.5 MPG, Highest Ever
Every month, the University of Michigan sends out its weighted average of the gas mileage of all new cars sold the previous month. And for January, the news is good. The new vehicles sold in the U.S. during January scored a sales-weighted average fuel efficiency of 24.5 mpg. That's up 0.4 mpg from...
John Voelcker -
EPA Quota For Cellulosic Fuels Tossed Out By Court As 'Wish'
Whatever the merits of ethanol as a fuel or a gasoline additive--and it's taken some hits lately--it's still in the running. The same cannot be said, however, for cellulosic biofuels, those derived from advanced crops or waste products. On Friday, a Federal appeals court ruled that an EPA mandate...
John Voelcker -
BREAKING NEWS: EPA Head Lisa Jackson To Resign
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson confirmed this morning that she is to resign from her position, the Washington Post reports. As well as setting standards to cut mercury and other toxins from coal power plant pollution and limits on the dumping of waste, Jackson has played...
Antony Ingram -
EPA To Dig Into Ford Fusion Hybrid, C-Max Hybrid Mileage
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is set to look into claims that two Ford hybrids don't meet their official fuel economy ratings in real world driving. We reported back in November that the 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid and Fusion Hybrid struggled to attain their official ratings, even driven with...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla Model S 60-kWh Version: EPA Range Rated At 208 Miles
Without any fanfare, the EPA has released its range rating for the second version of the Tesla Model S to come to market. The 2013 Tesla Model S fitted with a 60-kilowatt-hour battery pack has a rated range of 208 miles. That compares to 265 miles for the Model S version with the largest 85-kWh...
John Voelcker -
The past couple of years, auto industry headlines have focused on 2025 and its high benchmarks for corporate average fuel economy. But there's a nearer-term deadline that's fast approaching, and it comes with its own set of emissions and fuel-economy standards. The good news is that many cars on the road already meet those goals, and those that don't may have a fairly easy time reaching the finish line. Speaking to Detroit News, the EPA's Jeff Alson said that 25% of new vehicles sold in the U.S. either meet the upcoming 2016 standards for emissions, or could do so with some modification of...
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E15 Is Coming & AAA Ain't Happy; New Fuel Could Void Warranties
There's a lot of talk nowadays about renewable energy and energy independence. One product of such chatter is a new blend of gasoline called E15, but not everyone is happy to see it coming down the pipeline. Ethanol is a common additive in gasoline, thanks in large part to the Energy Independence...
Richard Read -
EPA Keeps Corn-Based Ethanol Mandate, Rejects Suspension Request
Last month, the governors of eight states and almost 200 members of Congress asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to suspend rules that mandate production of ethanol for use in gasoline. On Friday, the EPA said no. The request to suspend parts of the 2007 Renewable Fuel Standard came from...
John Voelcker -
Hyundai, Kia Face Federal Lawsuits For Overstated Gas Mileage
Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia are being sued in U.S. courts over inflating gas mileage ratings on 2011-2013 vehicles. It was revealed on Friday that both automakers had reported higher numbers on EPA window stickers than the cars were actually capable of in EPA economy testing. Both companies...
Antony Ingram -
EPA Lifts Gasoline Restrictions In Wake Of Hurricane Sandy
In 1990, the Clean Air Act amendments set out special rules regarding the manufacture and sale of gasoline in the U.S. This week, some of those rules have been suspended in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The amendments require that reformulated gasoline, or RFG, be used in cities with high levels of...
Richard Read -
Will EPA Waive Ethanol Requirement Due To Drought?
This summer's drought across the midwestern U.S. may have an impact in an unexpected place: your gasoline tank. Almost 200 members of Congress, and the governors of eight states, have called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to suspend portions of the 2007 Renewable Fuel Standard that...
John Voelcker -
With the announcement of final rules for corporate average fuel efficiency of 54.5 mpg by 2025, the NHTSA and EPA have done two things. The agencies have given carmakers both a major technological challenge--double the effective gas mileage of your vehicles in 12 years--and something they have long wanted: regulatory certainty. If the definition of a good compromise is that no one is entirely happy with it, then perhaps the new, stiffer CAFE requirements are good indeed. But many economists, industry executives, and policy wonks feel that stiffer gas-mileage rules are not the best way to...
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U.S. EPA Sets Gas Mileage Standards: 54.5 MPG By 2025
After a long, political battle, both on Capitol Hill and in Detroit, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Obama administration have confirmed new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for all cars made between 2017 and 2025. The final ruling, originally due two weeks ago but delayed...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
EPA Wins Legal Battle Against Higher Ethanol Levels In Fuel
The battle over the levels of ethanol in fuel may not have stopped just yet, but a decision by the U.S. Appeals Court will certainly weaken the challenge. Several groups, including grocery, auto and petroleum industry bodies filed suit against the Environmental Protection Agency in November 2010...
Antony Ingram -
White House Played Hardball To Set 54.5-MPG Standards
Politics is hardball, as every election season shows us. And getting very, very large and powerful auto companies to do something they really don't want to do is very, very hard. Even, that is, if you have a few useful levers, in the form of independent California regulators supported by a Supreme...
John Voelcker -
U.S. House To EPA: We Won't Let You Set Emissions Laws
With 2025's 54.5 mpg corporate average fuel economy standards set to be finalized towards the end of this year, carmakers will also have to meet a 34.1 mpg average by 2016. Alongside these economy targets, carmakers--and perhaps other businesses--will also be bound by the EPA's greenhouse gas...
Antony Ingram -
OK, E15 Gasoline Is Now Approved; Do You Need To Care?
You felt the earth shake a week ago today when the EPA formally approved the sale of E15 gasoline, right? Oh, you didn't? Not surprising, really. No gas station in the U.S. sells E15 today, and it looks like it may be a while before any given driver sees the stuff showing up as one of several...
John Voelcker -
If you’re looking to buy an electric car, you’re probably familiar with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Fuel Economy website, which lists the gas mileage of every car on sale today along with the miles per gallon equivalent rating for every plug-in car. Unfortunately, the EPA’s MPGe rating isn’t the best way to work out how green your electric car is, but there is another tool you can use from the EPA that can help you figure it out. Hidden away as part of the “Energy And Environment” tab of the EPA’s vehicle comparison tool is a section...
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E15 Ethanol Fuel Can Damage Engines, New Automaker Study Says
A new study released today by the Coordinating Research Council says that E15 gasoline, which contains 15 percent ethanol, could damage the engines of certain high-volume car and truck models. The two-year study was conducted on eight different engines from the 2001 through 2009 model years, with a...
John Voelcker -
Gas Pumps Go Naked As Vapor-Recovery Requirement Ends
Unless you drive a car powered by electricity or some form of home-brew biofuel, the chances are you visit a gas-station with some form of regularity. In fact, it’s probably become so mundane that you don’t even pay attention to that little metal hose any more. But on Thursday, the...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
More Doom & Gloom On Higher MPG Standards From Car Dealers
It's not news that new, higher fuel-economy standards will raise the cost of future cars in real dollars. Now a new study, funded by the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), suggests that those increases will prevent up to 7 million buyers from affording new cars in 2025. That's out of a...
John Voelcker -
2013 Cadillac XTS First To Use Greener R-1234yf Refrigerant
In addition to tailpipe emissions and greenhouse gases, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also regulates other materials in cars that may emit substances harmful to humans. And so it is that the 2013 Cadillac XTS large luxury sedan will become the first U.S. vehicle to use a new refrigerant...
John Voelcker -
Car Dealers Fight Higher MPG Rules, Again, Over Affordability
You'd think that if President Obama, two government agencies, and 13 of the world's largest carmakers supported a set of new regulations to improve gas mileage, they might be popular with auto dealers too. Not so. At a Tuesday public hearing on the proposed joint NHTSA-EPA standards for fuel...
John Voelcker