New CAFE Standards? Don't Break Out the Champagne Yet
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 07. 3.07
Nothing sets congressmen's mouths ajawing faster than a good ol' fashioned debate about fuel consumption standards. As you've probably heard by now, the Senate just passed an energy bill that would raise CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) standards by an average of 35 miles per gallon by the year 2020. While not much of an achievement in itself (other countries in Europe and Asia already handily beat these standards with Japan boasting an average of 45 mpg), the energy bill must also be ratified by the House, which only supports upping standards to 32 mpg by 2022, before it is sent on to the president's desk for his final approval.
Let's say, however, that the energy bill was approved by the House at the higher 35 mpg average and then enacted by the president. Would there then be reason to celebrate? Not really: there are still plenty of compromises and loopholes that could render the bill's provisions moot even by the low standards that it has set (even Bush came out in favor of stronger ones in his State of the Union address).
First of all, keep in mind that the improved fuel economy standards only apply to new vehicles so it will take at least another 10 years until the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions brought about by the reforms are felt. As Kassie Siegel, the climate program director at the Center for Biological Diversity notes: "The CAFE increase proposal is not appropriate to the scale of the problem. Scientists are telling us that just 10 more years of business-as-usual emissions will make it difficult to avoid climate disaster."
Perhaps the worst part of the bill is the fact that it won't necessarily mandate automakers to meet the new standards since the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which administers CAFE (but is for all intents and purposes in big auto's back pocket), can tamp down or eliminate them by showing they're not "cost effective" for the industry.
"They are a wholly owned and operated subsidiary of the Detroit automakers. Since 1989, they have sat on their tailpipes and done virtually nothing to improve fuel economy standards. Their approach to regulating the industry is to ask the industry what they want, and then do it," says Dan Becker, director of the Sierra Club's global warming program. Even then, automakers can just bear the brunt of paying fines every now and then to exceed the CAFE standards. As a result, there's really no incentive for these automakers to meet these new requirements since they can just internalize the costs.
It's really amazing that with all the vitriol and ink spilled over the energy bill debate we've only come out with these meager new provisions. Detroit tried to argue that the imposition of these higher standards would significantly increase their costs and hurt their business.
That talking point is really a non-starter: if you look at the beneficiaries of booming auto sales over the past few years, you'll see that the clear winners are Japanese auto companies like Toyota that have made higher fuel emissions standards one of their core principles. There's a reason Americans have been snapping up new Priuses: they want better fuel economy. One can only hope that the next Congress will do more to improve upon these slim pickings (but don't hold your breath).
Via ::Salon: Hip, hip, CAFE! (news website)
See also: ::Bush Calls for Higher Fuel Efficiency, ::Large Majority of Americans Support 40 mpg
35 by 2020? Pathetic. The auto industry is simply crying wolf. Again.
Anyone remember their comments and fear-mongering back in the 70s when EPA air pollution standards were going to require catalytic converters and the like? Costs would go up, consumers wouldn't buy, and the auto industry would collapse, taking the entire country with it.
Didn't happen.
The auto industry needs to stop looking at raised standards as a problem and start looking at them as an opportunity. Sell more efficient vehicles than your competition, and you have a marketing ADVANTAGE.
Or they can just pretend it's business as usual, and let Japan continue to eat their lunch, breakfast, AND dinner.
The US auto industry isn't in the best shape, basically because they built all these gas-guzzlers at exactly the wrong time. As prices went up, people dropped SUVs switched to imports. The GM and Ford dealers I see are choked with product.
US cars have, I admit, gone up in quality recently, largely because they took more advantage of their European design bureaus, and Ford's attempt to introduce a thriftier "World Car" (the Mondeo) fell on its face, but that's because it didn't match the quality of the imports it was designed to compete with, lacking as it did the brain power of the massively successful Ford Focus.
I personally think that a car that gets a mere 35 mph in 2020 isn't going to be commerically viable unless you can also live in it too.
You don't get how CAFE works do you? It's an average of all a producers cars in that class.
Indeed, this is truly pathetic. Why is it that Americans NEED cars? I don't think the thought EVER occurs to some people that they JUST MIGHT be able to get by without one, and save money and emissions to boot! (Of course to most, the money part is all that really matters, right? And the status symbol, I guess is very important, too.)
But really, 35 mpg by 2020? I mean, that's a joke, right? Haha ahem, I mean, "Hey guys, maybe, just maybe, if we work real, real hard at it, I THINK we just might be able to increase our average fuel economy by 15 whole mpg, in just 13 short years! I know, it's a stretch, but I think we can do it."
If you're asking why Americans NEED cars... you obviously haven't been here. Things are more spread out here - with the exception of a few cities like New York, Boston, San Francisco, etc - the density doesn't bode well for public transit. Things are starting to change though. I'm hoping things accelerate.
And Washington DC. They have great public transit. Your federal tax dollars at work. Maybe some other cities could get a share of the dough.
Ok, I am living in suburbs, have three kids, who I take to a lot of sports and music lessons etc. But I mostly use my car for work, and my husband sometimes does not make it to his 3000 mile service in a year. It is very possible!!!!!!!!! I am not an activist, or a hippy, but I and my kids tend to use our bikes for trips under 2 miles, one way. This includes school, my mom's house, the local grocery, the local art store, the local library, and the post office.. We also will run a couple of errands a week in the 5 mile range, incluing things like the farmer's market, going out to the local Fresh Choice Salad bar for dinner, or Trader Joes. We have a couple of advantages, it is pretty flat where we live, the center of our little town is 3 miles from my house, and our local commuter train line takes bikes. But I am both lazy and like wearing skirts and flip flops. If I can bike this much, anyone can! It is good for my overall fitness also.
Many of us probably know what will happen to that bill once it reaches the president's desk.
We need to deman impeachement of the President and Vice President. Global Warming cannot wait until January 2009.
A really flawed bill. As compared to the energy bills passed in Congress in the past decade? Oh, I forgot. Energy policy was just another White House Executive privilege.
Jeremy -
Off topic a bit - where is that photo from?? Somehow it seems familiar... !!
For anyone who thinks this is laughable, think again. 15mpg in 13 years would add $6k to the cost of producing EACH car by the means American car companies have at their disposal. These are the same American car companies dumping resources into figuring out how to compete with imports that consistantly are being produced and sold for far less.
This IS NOT to say that CAFE standards shouldn't be raised, or even that the raise should be lessened. It IS to point out that a real problem exists today with meeting theses marks, and Big Auto VP's and CEO's aren't "fear mongering", they are expressing genuine concern that this could be the knockout shot to the american auto industry. If you live in America and have any concern for our economy, you should too.
For anyone who thinks this is laughable, think again. 15mpg in 13 years would add $6k to the cost of producing EACH car by the means American car companies have at their disposal.
Baloney.
"Baloney"
Nice counter argument, but the 6K figure is a fact.
America is frankly pathetic! You need a decent leader who is not frightened to take the bull by the horns and LEAD. You have the resources, the technology, the people power and the (borrowed) money. All you lack is the willpower!!! Get off your asses for chrissakes and DO SOMETHING! 35mpg by 2020 arghhh - I could cry! You KNOW that the rest of the world is laughing in disbelief at you!
That 6K figure is completely imaginary! WHY do almost ALL European and Asian cars best 35mpg as a matter of course? (I refer of course to the EU and Asian spec models!) Because they are designed to and they wouldn't sell if they couldn't... AND they are AS safe if not safer than most US cars.... Look at test data!
If US fuel prices were brought into line with most of the rest of the world you would see fuel economy shoot up VERY rapidly in US cars!
Detroit is the monstrosity that brought us these gas guzzling monsters in the sake of their profits. The result is that we are now sending 400 BILLION DOLLARS to other unstable countries, some of which ais devoted to destroying our nation. BTW, when Bush the oil man came into office, it was only $100Bil.
My family has a solution. In the last 2-3 years, including our married children, we have bot 6 new cars. Five of them are fuel efficient 4 cyl Honda sedans. One unfortunately is a Toyota SUV, bot for the dumb reason that my kid could take his family, and toss the Dog in the space behind the rear seat. We are down to one American Car, a 96 grand prix that is being run into the ground, since it is worthless in a trade in. To be blunt we are getting even for Detroits greed and junk products.
Yes, the Japanese are not innocent, they have to some extent followed the American car mfrs with gas hogs. On the other hand, our American cars have been disasters mechanically or electrically, while almost nothing has gone wrong with the Japanese cars,
So detroit, a pox on your house. And for all those who bot those detroit gas hogs, we should put in an annual federal fuel economy tax. Cars and trucks under the cafe standards would pay $1000/yr per MPG under. Cars that get better then the cafe standards would get an annual rebate of $500/mile per gallon. A hummer would cost people about $17000 per year to drive, and if they don't like it, they can get out of that tax by joining the military where they could drive some military gas hog in Iraq to satisfy their machoism. BTW, Iraq is a war based partially on stealing the oil of the poor and decrepid nation which is far worse off now, while we have infamed much of the Muslim world. As the President of Egypt said when we invaded Iraq - you will create 100 new Bin Ladens. All for the oil company's profits, and the Bush family's greed..
Detroit is the monstrosity that brought us these gas guzzling monsters in the sake of their profits. The result is that we are now sending 400 BILLION DOLLARS to other unstable countries, some of which ais devoted to destroying our nation. BTW, when Bush the oil man came into office, it was only $100Bil.
My family has a solution. In the last 2-3 years, including our married children, we have bot 6 new cars. Five of them are fuel efficient 4 cyl Honda sedans. One unfortunately is a Toyota SUV, bot for the dumb reason that my kid could take his family, and toss the Dog in the space behind the rear seat. We are down to one American Car, a 96 grand prix that is being run into the ground, since it is worthless in a trade in. To be blunt we are getting even for Detroits greed and junk products.
Yes, the Japanese are not innocent, they have to some extent followed the American car mfrs with gas hogs. On the other hand, our American cars have been disasters mechanically or electrically, while almost nothing has gone wrong with the Japanese cars,
So detroit, a pox on your house. And for all those who bot those detroit gas hogs, we should put in an annual federal fuel economy tax. Cars and trucks under the cafe standards would pay $1000/yr per MPG under. Cars that get better then the cafe standards would get an annual rebate of $500/mile per gallon. A hummer would cost people about $17000 per year to drive, and if they don't like it, they can get out of that tax by joining the military where they could drive some military gas hog in Iraq to satisfy their machoism. BTW, Iraq is a war based partially on stealing the oil of the poor and decrepid nation which is far worse off now, while we have infamed much of the Muslim world. As the President of Egypt said when we invaded Iraq - you will create 100 new Bin Ladens. All for the oil company's profits, and the Bush family's greed..