New CAFE standards unlikely to stop the guzzling.
Published in: Chicago Tribune
Date: 4/7/2006
By: Jim Mateja
It was easy to tell the victors from the vanquished when President Bush announced new Corporate Average Fuel Economy regulations last week.
Auto executives clapped and turned somersaults; environmentalists pounded their chests, raised heads heavenward and wailed.
Despite promises of tough new regulations to raise the mileage mandated for light trucks, including sport utility vehicles, the standards are more milquetoast than muscle.
The CAFE standard now requires that each automakers fleet of light trucks _ pickups, vans and SUVs _ average 21.6 mpg. That will rise to 22.2 mpg in 2007 and 24 mpg in 2011.
Some environmentalists wanted to see the standard raised to the long-time requirement for cars, 27.5 mpg, which remains unchanged.
Others were far more demanding. Daniel Becker, director of the Sierra Club’s Global Warming Program, was calling for CAFE to raised to 40 mpg for all vehicles _ cars, trucks, vans, SUVs _ in 10 years.
The Union of Concerned Scientists, which with the Sierra Club has long demanded higher mileage, estimated that the new standards will save motorists less than two weeks of gasoline a year over the next 20 years.
“Fighting America’s oil addiction with these standards is like fighting lung cancer by smoking 49 cigarettes a day instead of 50,” said Don MacKenzie, vehicles engineer with the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Though the mileage standard isn’t one of them, a couple changes are in keeping with environmentalists’ demands.
Starting in 2011, for example, the monster 8,500-pound and heavier SUVs now exempt for CAFE laws will be counted. Heavy-duty picks of 8,500 pounds or more, however, remain exempt.
Also, in 2011 light-duty pickups and SUVs will have to reach a mileage bogey based on their size, which environmentalists figured would put an end to Hummers, Ford Expeditions and Toyota Land Cruisers that consume fuel with a passion.
But there’s a catch there: The smaller the size, the higher the bogey and the larger the size, the smaller the bogey.
As we’ve said, the CAFE standard today is 21.6 mpg for all light trucks. In 2011, the compact Ford Escape SUV would have to obtain 27.3 mpg, 5.7 mpg higher than the current standard, and the full-size Lincoln Navigator would have to reach 22.8 mpg, only 1.2 mpg more.
And the mileage averages of all those sizes will be added together to meet the 24 mpg CAFE standard. Reaching 24 mpg is no mountain to climb since automakers will get credits toward meeting it by selling vehicles that run on E85. Many do now and a lot more will by 2011.
Also, crossovers will count toward the light-truck average. Though offering all-wheel-drive like the big boys, crossovers are slightly smaller and lighter and, thus, get better mileage.
That’s on top of vehicles such as the compact Chevrolet HHR and Chrysler PT Cruiser counting toward the light-truck CAFE, a backdoor maneuver that ends in 2012.
There also are credits for gas/electric SUVs. Toyota, Lexus and Ford do that now and will be joined by General Motors and Dodge by 2011.
How tough will it be to adhere to the CAFE laws?
“I can say it is achievable,” said Sherri Childers Arb, GM’s energy spokeswoman.
No kidding!
CAFE regulations are in place, but the problem of conserving energy hasn’t been solved because consumers still have the freedom to buy a gas-guzzling SUV _ or 49 cigarettes.