New CAFE Standards Explained

When the US govt. put out new CAFE standards that car makers would have to hit 42mpg avg. for cars by 2016, I was amazed that the manufacturers actually supported the decision.

Thanks to Edmunds.com, I now know why.

Turns out that the EPA and CAFE formula for MPG was the same... in 1975. Since then, because it really did not line up with reality, the EPA formula has been changed twice. I still think it reads high, but thats another matter. The EPA numbers are what you see on the window of your new car, or when you look up your car's stats online.

The CAFE number, using the old method, would actually be much higher. According to Edmunds:
"a vehicle that scores an EPA combined rating of 29 miles per gallon actually contributes 39 MPG to its manufacturer's CAFE average. There are 29 car models and 36 truck models that already achieve the new standard, and about a third of the cars and half of the trucks are produced by a domestic automaker."

In other words, it is really not half as bad as I thought it was for the domestics, or for anyone for that matter. Everyone should be able to meet the target, especially if consumer demand shifts to lighter/smaller/cheaper cars and hybrids.

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