35 MPG Mandate Clears Senate Committee
The Daily Auto Insider
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
The U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee passed a bill that would increase fuel efficiency standards by requiring an average of all automakers' combined passenger car and light truck fleets to 35 miles a gallon by 2019, the Dow Jones Newswires reported.
Current law requires each automaker's fleet average 27.5 miles a gallon for cars and 22.5 miles a gallon for light trucks for model year 2008.
Authored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the so-called Ten-in-Ten bill would increase fuel efficiency of the nation's combined fleets of passenger cars and light trucks by 10 miles per gallon from 2009 to 2019. It includes an amendment by Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, and ranking member Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, that would give the administration the authority to lower the rate of annual improvement if it deems it economically unfeasible ââ¬âthe "off-ramp" that the auto industry was seeking.
The bill also contains a price-gouging amendment that would give the federal government the authority to penalize oil and gas companies that allegedly hike gasoline prices in times of emergency.
Committee lawmakers said that the bill would likely not be passed in its present form by the full Senate and further amendments would be offered. It is scheduled to be debated in the Senate in June, the story said.
Figures, authored by a democrat in California. Go eat some tofu. Probably rides a segway while using her blackberry too.
I don't even know why a bill is needed here, the car companies seem to be doing fine on their own. its slow going, but MPG numbers seem to be creeping up.
I don't see the gov't penalizing oil & gas companies at all. What do they consider an emergency? Compared to the emergency I have in my wallet right now paying $40 to fill up a frickin FOCUS? Granted, its running 93, but its only 20 cents a gallon higher than the regular 87. A whole $2.50 difference, give or take.
torradan,May 10 2007, 08:54 AM Wrote:Figures, authored by a democrat in California. Go eat some tofu. Probably rides a segway while using her blackberry too.
I don't even know why a bill is needed here, the car companies seem to be doing fine on their own. its slow going, but MPG numbers seem to be creeping up.
I don't see the gov't penalizing oil & gas companies at all. What do they consider an emergency? Compared to the emergency I have in my wallet right now paying $40 to fill up a frickin FOCUS? Granted, its running 93, but its only 20 cents a gallon higher than the regular 87. A whole $2.50 difference, give or take.
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torradan,
I don't think this is necessarily about the cars per se, but about the trucks. As long as the bill treats them equally and forces both to the higher MPG numbers I think you would see a dramatic decline in the consumption numbers.
Besides which car companies refuse to spend money on their product that doesn't net them more $ back. Raising the MPG won't earn these companies a dime in revenue so why would they otherwise? No less than Bob Lutz head of GM basically called the environmental movement "A bunch of baloney" (or words to that effect)
Why do you think the government had to
legislate in airbags for example? People balked at the extra cost, the government saw that airbags were a benefit and brought the hammer down on 'em saying they had to go in for the front seat driver/passenger...
As for punishing oil companies? -pfft- yeah right, Big Oil has their hooks in so deep into the US government that it could be proven tommorow that extracting crude oil kills babies and it would get deemed "acceptable losses" by the government :rolleyes:
Besides, Bush could still kill this bill deader than dead with a veto, what does he care about any voter backlash? He's gone by '08 <_<
NefCanuck
Thats great to hear that they passed the bill, but 12 years in my opinon is way to long.
They already have the tech to get 35mpg out of a truck, why not just enforce the bill in 7 years?. Its just America's way of beating around the bush...........I guess they like comming in last.
I don't know if Feinstein eats tofu or not, but IMO she's got the right long-term view of the situation.
The auto industry has maintained a significant lobby in DC against increases in CAFE standards - so that over the past 30 years (since the last major oil crises) the industry itself has generated no improvements that weren't mandated by government.
Bottom line: the market and the industry have proven themselves to be unwilling or unable to drive significant improvements in fuel economy and they've had both a wake up call ('73) and a lot of years to do it. Relative to what's needed and what's techically possible the car companies have done a p!ss poor job, and with the artificially low cost of gas in the U.S., the automotive market continues to be skewed way too far towards trucks and SUVs.
If Bush is to live up to just one commitment he's made, let's hope it's the one about stopping America's addiction to foreign oil - and a significantly higher CAFE standard is exactly what the Doctor ordered IMO.
torradan,May 10 2007, 09:54 AM Wrote:Figures, authored by a democrat in California. Go eat some tofu. Probably rides a segway while using her blackberry too.
I don't even know why a bill is needed here, the car companies seem to be doing fine on their own. its slow going, but MPG numbers seem to be creeping up.
I don't see the gov't penalizing oil & gas companies at all. What do they consider an emergency? Compared to the emergency I have in my wallet right now paying $40 to fill up a frickin FOCUS? Granted, its running 93, but its only 20 cents a gallon higher than the regular 87. A whole $2.50 difference, give or take.
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It all doesn't matter because of the "economically unfeasable" portion of the bill. They'll just say that doing so is killing them economically and bingo... back to their guzzling ways.
you buy a truck, you buy it's fuel mileage...DUH....
deal with it people....a crewcab Harley Davidson F-150 ain't gonna sip gas like a festiva...
Odd thing to me is how come the American auto companys offer what was sold round the world with great gas mileage they had in their line up for years already?
I mean the Focus in Europe with the TCdi & TDdi are in the range of 60MPG already, and VW has the Lupo TDI that gets 75 MPG! like what Mr Clarkson said about the Prius, you can get better mileage out of a VW lupo TDI, when he drove the 2005 Prius in an episode of Top Gear.
When the U.S. diesel fuel quality equals that of Europe things will start to change. Right now the sulphur level is way higher and the cetane number is lower.
Government regulation in Europe has forced both the industry and the consumer to embrace diesels and IMO the American's will drag themselves (and us) kicking and screaming into the 21st century soon - probably around 2010 when the ULSD regulations kick in.
Frost__2001,May 11 2007, 08:15 AM Wrote:Odd thing to me is how come the American auto companys offer what was sold round the world with great gas mileage they had in their line up for years already?
I mean the Focus in Europe with the TCdi & TDdi are in the range of 60MPG already, and VW has the Lupo TDI that gets 75 MPG! like what Mr Clarkson said about the Prius, you can get better mileage out of a VW lupo TDI, when he drove the 2005 Prius in an episode of Top Gear.
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ZTWsquared,May 11 2007, 04:52 PM Wrote:When the U.S. diesel fuel quality equals that of Europe things will start to change. Right now the sulphur level is way higher and the cetane number is lower.
Government regulation in Europe has forced both the industry and the consumer to embrace diesels and IMO the American's will drag themselves (and us) kicking and screaming into the 21st century soon - probably around 2010 when the ULSD regulations kick in.
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they are selling ULSD right now....as of the winter time I believe it was, so we are that one step closer....