CAFE stds on the chopping block
NYT Good riddance. There is no way that the average fleet mileage would ever come close to those numbers anyway. Hopefully the ethanol scam will be cut at the same time.
Forum Discussion
NJRVer wrote:agesilaus wrote:NJRVer wrote:
40 years ago the auto companies complained they couldn't meet standards.
Then 30 years ago they complained they couldn't meet standards.
Then 20 years ago they complained they couldn't meet standards.
Guess what? They met them and they are still here.
Yes but do you think that auto manufacturers can continue to sell Pickups, especially HD Pickups and other large SUV type vehicles and still achieve a 54 miles per gallon fleet average.
It's not physically possible. They'd have to drop large vehicles from their product list. And how many small vehicles today come remotely close to 54 mpg? I think the diesel Rabbit was up there but did VW do it honestly?
I could probably dig through old news stories and find the same quotes, but they actually managed to meet them.
It's not a question of if they can achieve the goal but more of a question of what will we as a consumer have to give up or pay for this achievement.
The automakers have proven that they can get the exhaust clean. Look at the tailpipes of the new diesels. So why have such an unrealistic goal for fuel economy? Why not just set a goal of burning no fuel? The auto manufacturers know that there are people that want the most fuel efficiency so they will always compete to better that but there are also people like me that put power and capability first and then just try to get the best economy out of what I have.
