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New Fuel-Economy Standards To Require (Very) Modest Improvements

by Laura Mckler, August 23, 2005 Federal officials plan to propose new fuel-economy standards today for SUVs, minivans and pickup trucks that are expected to force auto makers to modestly improve gas mileage on some of America’s most popular vehicles. The change in fuel-economy rules has been widely anticipated, but details have been scarce. Industry and environmental officials yesterday said they expect the new proposal to moderately boost the standard that auto makers will have to meet in coming years. Environmental lobbyists said they believe the target would be raised by about 1.5 miles per gallon over three years, beginning with the 2008 model year. The average target is currently set to rise to 22.2 mpg for the 2007 model year. Environmentalists already are criticizing the proposal. Eric Haxthausen, an economist with Environmental Defense, said it is “woefully inadequate.” More fundamentally, the administration is proposing a major change in the method of calculating compliance. The current system averages the fuel economy of a manufacturer’s entire light-truck fleet, with the most efficient, smallest sport-utility vehicles and minivans countering big SUVs and pickups that get lower mileage. The new rules are expected to divide trucks into a half-dozen categories based on size, […]

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