Quote:
Originally Posted by Emu the Foo
what does CAFE mean or is it like the gas guzzler tax.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by radz282003
I believe the short version is something like all auto manufacturers will have to attain a certain average MPG for their carline or be penalized somehow.
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pretty much.
CAFE = Corporate Average Fuel Economy
An Auto manufacturer must produce cars that abide by these guidelines, (35mpg in 2020, gradual increase from now to then.) And if they don't, they must pay a fine to the gov't. The trick is, that the whole
fleet must meet 35mpg, not the individual cars. People mix that part up all the time.
The thing that GM's got going for them, is E85, and the Volt.
There is a loophole in the current law, that is likely to carry over to the new law that offers..."protection"...from the law for vehicles that can run off of E85. It gives an E85 vehicle soemthing like a 45mpg rating, instead of it's normal lower rating. Sooooo, GM's has millions of vehicles on the road that can run E85 - that helps.
Then GM/Chevy is working on the Volt. Here's a real basic idea of how it will help. Let's pretend that GM ovly sells SUV's: What's (15mpg +20 mpg +18mpg)/3?
17.6mpg. (<) That would be the CAFE rating for GM.
Now pretend GM produces the Volt in addition to these 3 SUVs.
(15+20+18+55)/4 =
27mpg!! (<) That would be the CAFE rating AFTER GM produces the Volt.
Now, obviously the General produces more than just SUV's, and they make more than 3 cars. But you see the radical difference that one car like the Volt can make!
BIG issue with the new CAFE? The rules haven't been written, yet. All we know is 35mpg in 2020...and almost nothing else.
Of course...you didn't ask any of this.
But I thought it was a nice little bit of information.