Archives

AP - April 1, 2010

Meeting requirements four years sooner is a win for everybody --Ed

The U.S. government is setting tough gas mileage standards for new cars and trucks, spurring the next generation of fuel-sipping gas-electric hybrids, efficient engines and electric cars.

The heads of the Transportation Department and the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday will sign final rules requiring 2016 model-year vehicles to meet fuel efficiency targets of 35.5 miles per gallon combined for cars and trucks, an increase of nearly 10 mpg over current standards set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. More... (http://www.chicagobreakingbusiness.com/2010/04/us-to-require-gas-mileage-of-355-mpg-by-2016.html)

They have had this capability for years... It is a crime my Aveo doesn't get 50 mpg !

Will that be highway numbers or city/highway combined??

I believe that's the 45%/55% combined rating.

I wonder if we'll see more "stretching" of model years due to this. The current trend has them coming round almost a year early (2010 FFH in April of '09). Maybe releases with 2012 numbers won't come around until way late in the year?

They have had this capability for years... It is a crime my Aveo doesn't get 50 mpg !This chart makes it clear we could have reached that goal by now...

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/EPA_Chart_1975-2006.png

Where'd you dig that up at? That's....horrifying.

Where'd you dig that up at? That's....horrifying.

While they updated the info, the non-executive summary is here > http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fetrends.htm

It is a hp game now! who needs hp? The insight is around 83 isn't it? My aveo is like 103hp. You look at 1/2 tons ,they have like 300 +... Sure they have their applications but to not get at least 20 in town driving with a 1/2 is just stupid! Even the crossover suv size isn't that great. My Vue gets 22 on the freeway . Wow I just got negative,sorry

Will that be highway numbers or city/highway combined??
I believe that's the 45%/55% combined rating.
None of the above. The city, highway and combined figures you see posted on a car's window sticker are adjusted very substantially downward from the EPA's raw test results.

The CAFE figures, which will need to average 35.5mpg for each automaker by 2016, are based on the unadjusted figures, which you do not see.

For example, a 4cyl Accord rated at 21/25/31 on the window sticker actually counts as 34mpg for CAFE purposes. A gas Civic is rated at over 40mpg for CAFE, and I believe a Prius counts as something like 70mpg.

So in other words, the 35.5mpg target isn't even that high of a bar. If an automaker can get a window-sticker average of 27-28mpg they will make it.

I thought I had posted this here, but it was in another thread this morning.

My civic is rated 31 mpg on the new window sticker, but 42 for CAFE purposes.

All the automakers have to do is match what they were building 15 years ago. It's not rocket science, and it's not the end of the world. Smaller, lighter, aerodynamic, possibly slower ( but technology like hybridization helps with that).

37 city / 49 highway / 42 combined, using the standard 45 highway / 55 city split, only on the unadjusted (now doubly-adjusted) numbers.

You can download the raw data from fueleconomy.gov by year.

Does anybody have a list of current model year vehicles that meet the standard? I think providing that list would illuminate discussion of the standard.

Does anybody have a list of current model year vehicles that meet the standard? I think providing that list would illuminate discussion of the standard.
Good idea, because there are a lot more vehicles rated better than 35.5 per CAFE than most people probably think. Here they are, in order of fuel economy. Downloaded from: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/download.shtml (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/download.shtml) (thanks for the tip, Andrew!):

Vehicle|Eng|Fuel|Trans|Adj City FE|Adj Hwy FE|Unadj Comb FE
2010 TOYOTA PRIUS|1.8|GR|Auto(AV)|51|48|70.89
2010 Honda CIVIC HYBRID|1.3|GR|Auto(AV)|40|45|58.84
2010 Honda INSIGHT|1.3|GR|Auto(AV-S7)|40|43|57.66
2010 Honda INSIGHT|1.3|GR|Auto(AV)|40|43|57.43
2010 Ford Division FUSION HYBRID FWD|2.5|GR|Auto(AV)|41|36|54.18
2010 Lincoln-Mercury Car MILAN HYBRID FWD|2.5|GR|Auto(AV)|41|36|54.18
2010 Mercedes-Benz Smart fortwo (CABRIOLET)|1.0|GR|Auto(AM5)|33|41|49.50
2010 Mercedes-Benz Smart fortwo (COUPE)|1.0|GR|Auto(AM5)|33|41|49.50
2010 LEXUS HS 250h|2.4|GR|Auto(AV)|35|34|47.27
2010 NISSAN ALTIMA HYBRID|2.5|GR|Auto(AV)|35|33|46.71
2010 Audi A3|2.0|D|Auto(S6)|30|42|46.20
2010 Volkswagen GOLF|2.0|D|Auto(S6)|30|42|46.20
2010 Volkswagen JETTA|2.0|D|Auto(S6)|30|42|46.20
2010 Volkswagen JETTA SPORTWAGEN|2.0|D|Auto(S6)|30|42|46.20
2010 TOYOTA CAMRY HYBRID|2.4|GR|Auto(AV)|33|34|45.94
2010 Volkswagen GOLF|2.0|D|Manual(M6)|30|41|45.70
2010 Volkswagen JETTA|2.0|D|Manual(M6)|30|41|45.70
2010 Volkswagen JETTA SPORTWAGEN|2.0|D|Manual(M6)|30|41|45.70
2010 Ford Division ESCAPE HYBRID FWD|2.5|GR|Auto(AV)|34|31|44.14
2010 Mazda TRIBUTE HYBRID 2WD|2.5|GR|Auto(AV)|34|31|44.14
2010 Mercury Truck MARINER HYBRID FWD|2.5|GR|Auto(AV)|34|31|44.14
2010 TOYOTA YARIS|1.5|GR|Manual(M5)|29|36|42.59
2010 Mini Mini Cooper|1.6|GP|Manual(M6)|28|37|42.52
2010 Mini Mini Clubman|1.6|GP|Manual(M6)|28|36|42.27
2010 Mini Mini Convertible|1.6|GP|Manual(M6)|28|36|42.27
2010 TOYOTA YARIS|1.5|GR|Auto(A4)|29|35|41.85
2010 Honda FIT|1.5|GR|Auto(A5)|28|35|41.33
2010 KIA MOTORS CORPORATION RIO|1.6|GR|Manual(M5)|28|34|41.14
2010 HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY ACCENT BLUE|1.6|GR|Manual(M5)|27|36|40.83
2010 HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY ACCENT|1.6|GR|Manual(M5)|28|34|40.70
2010 KIA MOTORS CORPORATION RIO|1.6|GR|Auto(A4)|27|36|40.42
2010 LEXUS RX 450h|3.5|GP|Auto(AV-S6)|32|28|40.36
2010 NISSAN VERSA|1.8|GR|Auto(AV)|28|34|40.26
2010 KIA MOTORS CORPORATION FORTE|2.0|GR|Auto(A5)|27|36|40.26
2010 HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY ACCENT|1.6|GR|Auto(A4)|27|36|40.21
2010 CHEVROLET AVEO|1.6|GR|Manual(M5)|27|35|39.99
2010 CHEVROLET AVEO 5|1.6|GR|Manual(M5)|27|35|39.99
2010 PONTIAC G3 (5 DOOR)|1.6|GR|Manual(M5)|27|35|39.99
2010 SUZUKI SWIFT +|1.6|GR|Manual(M5)|27|35|39.99
2010 Honda FIT|1.5|GR|Auto(S5)|27|33|39.81
2010 TOYOTA COROLLA|1.8|GR|Manual(M5)|26|35|39.72
2010 Honda FIT|1.5|GR|Manual(M5)|27|33|39.70
2010 TOYOTA COROLLA|1.8|GR|Auto(A4)|26|34|39.40
2010 Chevrolet COBALT COUPE|2.2|GR|Manual(M5)|25|35|39.31
2010 Chevrolet COBALT SEDAN|2.2|GR|Manual(M5)|25|35|39.31
2010 Chevrolet COBALT XFE COUPE|2.2|GR|Manual(M5)|25|37|39.31
2010 Chevrolet COBALT XFE SEDAN|2.2|GR|Manual(M5)|25|37|39.31
2010 Pontiac G5|2.2|GR|Manual(M5)|25|35|39.31
2010 Pontiac G5 GT|2.2|GR|Manual(M5)|25|35|39.31
2010 Pontiac G5 XFE|2.2|GR|Manual(M5)|25|37|39.31
2010 TOYOTA SCION xD|1.8|GR|Manual(M5)|27|33|39.30
2010 Honda CIVIC|1.8|GR|Auto(A5)|25|36|39.26
2010 TOYOTA SCION xD|1.8|GR|Auto(A4)|27|33|39.25
2010 Honda CIVIC|1.8|GR|Manual(M5)|26|34|39.24
2010 HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY ELANTRA BLUE|2.0|GR|Manual(M5)|26|35|39.23
2010 LEXUS RX 450h AWD|3.5|GP|Auto(AV-S6)|30|28|39.15
2010 NISSAN SENTRA|2.0|GR|Auto(AV)|26|34|39.11
2010 Mini Mini Clubman S|1.6|GP|Manual(M6)|26|34|38.86
2010 Mini Mini Cooper S|1.6|GP|Manual(M6)|26|34|38.86
2010 Mini Mini Cooper S Convertible|1.6|GP|Manual(M6)|26|34|38.86
2010 Ford Division ESCAPE HYBRID 4WD|2.5|GR|Auto(AV)|30|27|38.82
2010 Mazda TRIBUTE HYBRID 4WD|2.5|GR|Auto(AV)|30|27|38.82
2010 Mercury Truck MARINER HYBRID 4WD|2.5|GR|Auto(AV)|30|27|38.82
2010 HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY ELANTRA|2.0|GR|Auto(A4)|26|34|38.76
2010 Chevrolet MALIBU HYBRID|2.4|GR|Auto(A4)|26|34|38.58
2010 NISSAN VERSA|1.6|GR|Manual(M5)|26|34|38.27
2010 HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY ELANTRA|2.0|GR|Manual(M5)|25|34|37.93
2010 NISSAN VERSA|1.6|GR|Auto(A4)|26|33|37.89
2010 PONTIAC VIBE|1.8|GR|Manual(M5)|26|32|37.86
2010 TOYOTA COROLLA MATRIX|1.8|GR|Manual(M5)|26|32|37.82
2010 KIA MOTORS CORPORATION SOUL|1.6|GR|Manual(M5)|26|31|37.80
2010 Mini Mini Clubman|1.6|GP|Auto(S6)|25|33|37.66
2010 Mini Mini Convertible|1.6|GP|Auto(S6)|25|33|37.66
2010 Mini Mini Cooper|1.6|GP|Auto(S6)|25|33|37.66
2010 KIA MOTORS CORPORATION FORTE|2.0|GR|Auto(A4)|25|34|37.56
2010 Honda CIVIC|1.8|GR|Auto(A5)|24|36|37.52
2010 CHEVROLET AVEO|1.6|GR|Auto(A4)|25|34|37.47
2010 CHEVROLET AVEO 5|1.6|GR|Auto(A4)|25|34|37.47
2010 PONTIAC G3 (5 DOOR)|1.6|GR|Auto(A4)|25|34|37.47
2010 NISSAN VERSA|1.8|GR|Manual(M6)|26|31|37.32
2010 Suzuki SX4 SEDAN|2.0|GR|Auto(AV)|25|32|37.21
2010 KIA MOTORS CORPORATION FORTE|2.0|GR|Manual(M5)|25|34|37.18
2010 Ford Division FOCUS FWD|2.0|GR|Manual(M5)|24|35|37.14
2010 MAZDA MAZDA3|2.0|GR|Manual(M5)|25|33|37.13
2010 Mini Mini John Cooper Works|1.6|GP|Manual(M6)|25|33|37.11
2010 Mini Mini John Cooper Works Clubman|1.6|GP|Manual(M6)|25|33|37.11
2010 Mini Mini John Cooper Works Conv|1.6|GP|Manual(M6)|25|33|37.11
2010 PONTIAC VIBE|1.8|GR|Auto(A4)|26|31|37.09
2010 KIA MOTORS CORPORATION SOUL|1.6|GR|Auto(A4)|26|31|36.95
2010 Ford Division FOCUS FWD|2.0|GR|Auto(A4)|24|34|36.89
2010 TOYOTA COROLLA MATRIX|1.8|GR|Auto(A4)|25|31|36.87
2010 Saturn VUE FWD HYBRID|2.4|GR|Auto(A4)|25|32|36.73
2010 BMW 335d|3.0|D|Auto(S6)|23|36|36.01
2010 MAZDA MAZDA3|2.0|GR|Auto(S5)|24|33|35.92
2010 NISSAN VERSA|1.8|GR|Auto(A4)|24|32|35.87
2010 Chevrolet COBALT COUPE|2.2|GR|Auto(A4)|24|33|35.86
2010 Chevrolet COBALT SEDAN|2.2|GR|Auto(A4)|24|33|35.86
2010 Pontiac G5|2.2|GR|Auto(A4)|24|33|35.86
2010 Pontiac G5 GT|2.2|GR|Auto(A4)|23|32|35.86

Thanks. I think it would also be useful to list the truck/SUV/minvans that already meet the light truck standard.

My point here is that this standard is not something that will stretch the state of the art. The main impacts I predict are that 4WD and vehicles with over 300 hp will be less common. Almost everybody got along just fine without either of those until the 1990's.

The Detroit Press had an online poll with 71% stating the new EPA standards are too strict and will affect what they buy.

One might think this recession might have given them a clue. ;)