GM, Ford Can Meet US’s Strongest Emissions Standards by 2012, Based on New Fuel Economy Proposals
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY 
on 12. 9.08
photo: Ford Motor Co.
According to a new piece of analysis by NRDC of fuel economy plans submitted to Congress by General Motors and Ford will be able to meet the most stringent emissions standards in the nation. Chrysler did not provide fuel economy projections.
You can download a PDF of the analysis (GM and Ford Investment Plans and California Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards) but here are the key points:
GM Fuel Economy For Car Fleet = 37.3 MPG
If GM meets its planned 2012 fleet fuel economy levels of 37.3 mpg for new cars and 27.5 mpg for light trucks, the projected greenhouse gas emissions would comply with a national version of the California GHG emissions standards.
Ford Will Improve Fuel Economy by 26%
Compare to its 2005 baseline, Ford will improve fleet fuel economy by 26% in 2012, and by 36% in 2015. This would allow Ford to comply with California emission standards in both 2012 and 2015.
NRDC goes on to recommend that GM and Ford should adopt a uniform national emission standard by taking the high ground and apply the California emissions standards nationwide. Additionally, the Big Three should end their opposition to California’s standards as a precondition to receiving any federal bailout money.
More at: NRDC (press release)
Auto Industry Bailout
Detroit Bailout Loans On The Road To Approval, With Condition Attached - Car Makers Meet 35 MPG By 2020
3 Green Pre-Conditions for a Big Three Bailout
Praying For A Bailout: The Lithium Calf On Detroit's Altar
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- Does Your Car Qualify for the Federal 'Cash for Clunker' Program?
- Convenient, Tasty, Healthy Water is Only a Tap Away
- What the Heck are Carbon Emissions, Anyway?
- Travel Green and Save Money without Giving Up Anything (Except Your Carbon Footprint)
- Is School Food Harming Kids? Enlist a Labor Day Eat-In To Promote Fresh, Healthy Food
- Increase the Life of Your Car, Gas Mileage by Using The Correct Motor Oil
If that proposal goes through, you'll have our (German/European) car industry by the balls in no time - we may theoretically be able to build superior cars, but the ability to break free from lobbyism at crucial times is greater in the US.
It's a start. And as long as it's considered a start, with severe penalties attached to not making those points, I might accept it. And by 2020, I expect to see an additional 20MPG fleet improvement.
But it still does not force the automakers to give us electrics. They NEED to do that, or they are doing this country a disservice by continuing to provide polluting cars and trucks.
Make no mistake about it, this is a first step. Wouldn't it be nice if the big three pledged to get off fossil fuels as soon as possible?
37.3 mpg is pretty darn good compared to where we currently are at.
Does anyone know what's going on for fuel economy of large trucks though? Not the GM kind, but the 18 wheelers. That's where I'd like to see some improvement.
It's particularly disappointing when the opening sentence in an article is grammatically flawed.
"...fuel economy plans submitted to Congress by General Motors and Ford will be able to meet the most stringent..."
On the other hand, that error is the reason I clicked on the article. The teacher in me refuses to let mistakes just "slide by."
That's OK. I feel the same way about hyphenated names.
This strikes me like a cheating spouse saying "Honestly! I'll change! Just give me time! (And a $34 billion loan.)"
At some point, you have to cut your losses.
That mileage rating will look pretty decent to most folks. The Automotive X-prize includes competitors such as Loremo and Aptera, both of which make that number look like gluttony. So by 2012, will it still look impressive at all?