Thread: New CAFE standard

This important step does not seem to have received much news coverage. There must be something else going on in Washington.

WASHINGTON (July 29, 2011) –The Obama administration today unveiled an agreement with major automakers and the state of California on a framework to strengthen the nation’s fuel efficiency and auto pollution standards for new cars and light trucks. This proposal, which will apply to vehicles sold in model years 2017 to 2025, will set a global warming pollution standard of 163 grams per mile by 2025, the equivalent of 54.5 miles per gallon (mpg) if met exclusively with fuel efficiency improvements, or a Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard of 48-49 mpg assuming full use of air conditioning improvements. That would translate to a 2030 window sticker of about 36 mpg, up from 21 mpg today.

This will spur technology development, and help wean us off Saudi Arabian oil and should also help the US car industry compete more strongly with foreign manufacturers.

Exactly how the CAFÉ standard translates to a much lower sticker MPG I don’t know - presumably some formula combining highway and city mileage. I suppose I can google it, but maybe someone on here knows.

Oddly I couldn't find what explained the difference either, other than some broad statements EPA mpg included lab conditions to mimic actual driving. I can see some mpg being loss as a test mimics time spent sitting in traffic etc.

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I've got mixed feelings about mixing light trucks and cars. Trucks are used to haul stuff, pull trailers; even the smallest of them require more horse power and beefier suspensions to do so. Many of them also require 4 wheel drive. On the other hand the aerodynamics of current light trucks are horrible.

I compromised and bought a Subaru Outback that can haul small stuff, has all wheel drive and gets decent mileage if you drive with a light foot. I'm getting 33 mpg(US) combined city and highway, while the sticker says 19 city/27 highway. How you drive makes a huge difference.

Originally Posted by Bunbury

This important step does not seem to have received much news coverage. There must be something else going on in Washington.

WASHINGTON (July 29, 2011) –The Obama administration today unveiled an agreement with major automakers and the state of California on a framework to strengthen the nation’s fuel efficiency and auto pollution standards for new cars and light trucks. This proposal, which will apply to vehicles sold in model years 2017 to 2025, will set a global warming pollution standard of 163 grams per mile by 2025, the equivalent of 54.5 miles per gallon (mpg) if met exclusively with fuel efficiency improvements, or a Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard of 48-49 mpg assuming full use of air conditioning improvements. That would translate to a 2030 window sticker of about 36 mpg, up from 21 mpg today.

This will spur technology development, and help wean us off Saudi Arabian oil and should also help the US car industry compete more strongly with foreign manufacturers.

Exactly how the CAFÉ standard translates to a much lower sticker MPG I don’t know - presumably some formula combining highway and city mileage. I suppose I can google it, but maybe someone on here knows.

I must have done the math wrong. I get 28.28 MPG.

I used a density of 0.72722 for gasoline.

I figured carbon in gasoline being 87.71% of the weight.

I figured this carbon, turned into CO2, as 314.29% of the weight.

What did I do wrong?

I like to check other people figures. Someone else double check me please.

"This will spur technology development, and help wean us off Saudi Arabian oil and should also help the US car industry compete more strongly with foreign manufacturers."

This is propaganda. It will increase substantially the price of new cars, will not signficantly affect the need for foreign oil as long asuse of domestic supplies remain and CAFE standards have never driven a competitive advantage for US car makers.

Originally Posted by Jorge1907

"This will spur technology development, and help wean us off Saudi Arabian oil and should also help the US car industry compete more strongly with foreign manufacturers."

This is propaganda. It will increase substantially the price of new cars, will not signficantly affect the need for foreign oil as long asuse of domestic supplies remain and CAFE standards have never driven a competitive advantage for US car makers.

I agree. For a party that claims to be in favor of the working poor, who can afford a used car anymore and keep it registered? Most cities I think these days require emission testing before you can renew your vehicle registration. Any running car used to be acceptable for some. Get one for $50 or $100 bux. Now a days, you have to pay a couple thousand, at least!

That the working poor are being priced out of car ownership, with the big hits being insurance mandates designed to protect the wealthy (and driven by the horrible inefficiencies of the US corporate medical care setup), gas prices carefully arranged with political advantage to suck as much money as possible from those who have the least, and various tweakings of pollution response etc designed to benefit GM at the expense of everyone else (catalytic converters, corrupt mileage measuring systems, etc) has been a fact of US economic life for many years now.

The flip side, taht they are being forced into car ownership by the degradation of public transportation, is also by now a long familiar circumstance.

My wife's '92 Toyota Corolla gets 42 mpg over the road, meets all ordinary driving performance needs easily, seats four in reasonable comfort, starts in the coldest weather, and comes with air conditioning and cruise control and electric windows and all that stuff. That's twenty year old tech. What's the problem?

Originally Posted by Jorge1907

"This will spur technology development, and help wean us off Saudi Arabian oil and should also help the US car industry compete more strongly with foreign manufacturers."

This is propaganda. It will increase substantially the price of new cars, will not signficantly affect the need for foreign oil as long asuse of domestic supplies remain and CAFE standards have never driven a competitive advantage for US car makers.

Nobody seems to consult ENGINEERS about this sort of crap. Waiting for the day 100% efficiency is mandated, wait, it is coming. Plus most foreign oil comes from to USA from Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela- Saudi Arabia, not so much.

Oh, yeah, something going on in Washington, DC all right- people trying to cope with financial meltdown without facing tar and feather treatment.