On Friday, Senator Carl Levin condemned a draft Commerce Committee bill revising federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. The bill would raise the required average to 28.5 mpg by 2015 and 35 mpg by 2020, with four percent annual increases thereafter. The Michigan Democrat threatened to filibuster the bill. In fact, Levin should shut the Hell up. If passed as is, the Commerce bill would create The Mother of All Loopholes.
Part of the proposed Commerce bill directs the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration (NHTSA) to change passenger car fleet averages to a system based on a given vehicle’s “footprint” (wheelbase times width divided by 144).
To understand the implications of this change, consider the impact of the same “reformed system” on light truck CAFE standards, which take effect this year (albeit on an opt-in basis until 2010).
Light truck footprint-based fuel economy standards are based on a sliding scale. Simply put, smaller vehicles must be significantly more frugal than big ones, and every light truck within that spectrum must meet a size-specific mpg target.
But there is no requirement to create a mix of vehicles whose combined fuel economy adheres to a federally mandated overall average. In other words, according to the new rules, the sliding scale IS the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard, NOT a manufacturer's fleet-wide light truck average.
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