35 MPG Mandate Clears Senate Committee
 

35 MPG Mandate Clears Senate Committee
The Daily Auto Insider
Wednesday, May 9, 2007

The U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee passed a bill that would increase fuel efficiency standards by requiring an average of all automakers' combined passenger car and light truck fleets to 35 miles a gallon by 2019, the Dow Jones Newswires reported.

Current law requires each automaker's fleet average 27.5 miles a gallon for cars and 22.5 miles a gallon for light trucks for model year 2008.

Authored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the so-called Ten-in-Ten bill would increase fuel efficiency of the nation's combined fleets of passenger cars and light trucks by 10 miles per gallon from 2009 to 2019. It includes an amendment by Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, and ranking member Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, that would give the administration the authority to lower the rate of annual improvement if it deems it economically unfeasible — the "off-ramp" that the auto industry was seeking.

The bill also contains a price-gouging amendment that would give the federal government the authority to penalize oil and gas companies that allegedly hike gasoline prices in times of emergency.

Committee lawmakers said that the bill would likely not be passed in its present form by the full Senate and further amendments would be offered. It is scheduled to be debated in the Senate in June, the story said.

People read too much into this kind of stuff....so many believe that once this bill is passed (and it probably will be in some form) that cars like Camaros, Mustangs, GTO's, etc won't be made anymore. This type of law applies to an automakers entire lineup. That's why you see GM's latest auto show deals, those "mini-cars". They are trendy and flashy as all get up now, but in serious consideration for production because they can get 50 and 60 mpg....take 60 mpg and average it with 20 mpg and you get 40 mpg...easily beating the standard.

It's also the reason that automakers like GM buy/create other brands. They get to add them into their averages....like when GM started Saturn or bought Daewoo...suddenly GM had 10 "new" vehicles in their lineups that get 30-35 (or more) mpg....

Laws like this are why we Camaro, Firebird, GTO, and yes even Mustang owners will always have those little rice burning POS's to dust off between stoplights.

Remember - those mini-cars of Gm's are only sold in the Europe/Asia/India areas right now...those don't count in the American fleet average, because this is an American Law.

Dragon you're right about the current "mini-cars". I'm talking about the new ones they've been parading around the auto show circuit. They are supposed to be the perfect cars for congested city traffic/parking.

Remember, this law won't even go into effect until like 2015 or later, so while those auto show cars aren't production ready yet, they will be if need be.

I think GM's displacement on demand will help the most though. Getting the poorer performers to improve their mpg ratings help more than designing entirely new (meaning costly) vehicles.

It does say "average". That is a good thing. Also, you see the clause highlighted by Killer. If it's economically unfeasible, out the window the bill goes....or is at least amended. Betcha automakers are liking this right now. ON WITH THE REAR WHEEL DRIVE MUSCLECARS!!!

Not so fast...

The CAFE standards apply ONLY to cars MADE in the USA! This means that any of the daewoo's that are IMPORTED do NOT count into the average!

This is the big problem... if GM could just import its European cars over here it would be all set (it has cars in Asia and Europe that could easily meet this average) but this isn't what CAFE addresses. CAFE refers to the average fuel economy of US made cars... so there is real reason for concern.

~LSx

ok got a question if it is only for cars made here then would the new camaro be considered for cafe? I mean it's made in canada. . .it's not made in the US. so yea. . .that shouldn't be added into the avg

It’s assembled in Canada, not made, big difference, plus more than half of its parts will most likely come from the US. So, it’s considered made in the US (NORTH AMERICA)…

CAFÉ is very one sided. I don’t understand why all the foreign car manufactures get all the dam brakes… :iono:

Me niether - it really pisses me off sometimes...:evil: Who am I kidding? All the time!

Even without the foriegn cars...remember the Camaro will avg. about 32 mpg they say, in 2009(more if you're on the highway with DoD)...GM has 10 more years to meet this standard...they're fine.

From: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/cafe/overview.htm
 

Are import vehicles treated the same as domestics when it comes to CAFE?

"
The rules are different for passenger cars and trucks. There is a statutory “two-fleet rule” for passenger cars. Manufacturers’ domestic and import fleets must separately meet the 27.5 mpg CAFE standard. For passenger cars, a vehicle, irrespective of who makes it, is considered as part of the “domestic fleet” if 75% or more of the cost of the content is either U.S. or Canadian in origin. If not, it is considered an import.
Beginning in 1980, light trucks were administratively subjected to a similar two-fleet rule. However, given changes in market conditions (the “captive import” sector of the fleet had become insignificant), NHTSA eliminated the two-fleet rule for light trucks beginning with MY 1996. Therefore, there are no fleet distinctions, and trucks are simply counted and CAFE calculated as one distinct fleet of a given manufacturer. "

So even though Honda's may be made in the US, they may NOT have to meet the same standard if less than 75% of the cost of the content is not US or Canadian in origin... hmmm.

~LSx