Why are mileage standards not increasingin the US fast enough?

Question

Why American cars have lower fuel economy than their japanese counterparts. Look the figures below.

Top 5 Most Fuel Efficient American Cars:

1. Ford Escape Hybrid - 36 mpg city / 31 mpg highway

2. Chevy Aveo - 26 mpg city / 35 mpg highway

3. Ford Focus - 26 mpg city / 34 mpg highway

4. Chevy Cobalt - 25 mpg city / 34 mpg highway

5. Ford Fusion - 24 mpg city / 32 mpg highway

Top 5 Most Fuel Efficient Japanese Cars:

1. Honda Insight - 60 mpg city / 66 mpg highway

2. Toyota Prius - 60 mpg city / 51 mpg highway

3. Honda Civic Hybrid - 49 mpg city / 51 highway

4. Toyota Corolla - 32 mpg city / 41 mpg highway

5. Toyota Matrix - 30 mpg city / 36 mpg highway

Answer 1

The simple answer is that Republicans in Congress block any mandatory increases on the grounds of "personal liberty" or other such nonsense.

California and 16 other states attempted to increase fuel efficiency standards last year and the Bush administration sued them to block it.  The case is still in court.

Answer 2

There are new fuel economy standards, which are part of H.R. 6, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, signed by President Bush on Wed. Dec. 19, 2007.

The signing speech:  http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/...

Bill H.R. 6 information: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?...

The fuel economy portion is also called the "Ten in Ten Fuel Economy Act."

Basically, beginning with the 2011 model year, the Sec. of Transportation (with input from the Sec. of Energy and the Administrator of the EPA) shall start moving the CAFE standard up annually, until in model year 2020 it is at or over 35mpg. The law doesn't state by how much it has to increase annually, just that it increases until 2020.

The last time that Congress had set the fuel economy standards, was back in 1975, so moving the bar up from 25mpg for cars (27.5mpg fleet) to 35mpg after 32 years shouldn't be much of a problem.

Remember that the MPG listed on the Monroney label (window sticker, also listed at http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ ) isn't the fuel economy numbers used for the CAFE standards. CAFE uses the raw fuel economy numbers from the laboratory dynometer tests, but consumers only see the downward multiplied numbers to account for more "realistic driving."

The CAFE standards are based on the city/highway average of

the raw laboratory data, multiplied by the vehicle sales. The

devaluation for the sticker/fuel economy label has no effect on the

CAFE average. The more sales of a high-MPG vehicle, the more that'll balance out sales of a low-MPG vehicle... So production numbers will probably change to include more of the fuel efficient vehicles to outweigh the sales of the less fuel efficient ones. Just like how manufacturers currently can sell vehicles that are less than the 25mpg fleet average so long as you have others to balance you out, the change to 35mpg doesn't mean that all vehicles will have to be over 35mpg... Nothing about cars getting smaller or lighter or adding hybrid systems, but more about changing the mix of what is sold.

(Several "American" companies are also using the flex-fuel/ethanol loophole which gives those vehicles inflated fuel economy numbers for CAFE purposes, by only counting the amount of gasoline used...

Note also that some other countries have stricter fuel economy/emissions rules, and that could be why "Japanese" automakers have more fuel-efficient vehicles available than do "American" automakers.  

Not that you can really tell an "American" from a "Foreign" car anymore.  The 33mpg city/34mpg highway Toyota Camry Hybrid, for example, is built in the Georgetown Kentucky, USA plant.  

http://www.toyotageorgetown.com/01camryh... )

Answer 3

Your list includes dual propulsion system cars Electric Internal combustion Hybrids. Even the Ford escape is a ten year old Mazda design. Running off batterys around town Hybrids get great milage. It is when you turn on the A/C or heater the hybrid car needs more battery or internal combustion and milage won't look so good. America is going to have a crop of Hybrid powered cars and trucks soon and plug in hybrids. We were not living where gas was so high priced until the last year or two. Because it takes about 4 or 5 years to develop a new car and even longer when the car has to be as complex as a hybrid. Just remember in a wreck or repair shop 655 volt battery systems can and have killed first responders and uncareful auto technicians

Answer 4

Every time the feds give the car companies new rules, we all pay.  I wish they'd leave them alone.