Report Confirms New Fuel Economy Standards Will Cost The Consumers Thousands More

The huge leaps in fuel economy that regulators are seeking are possible for mainstream cars, even without heavy use of electrification technologies -- but consumers must be prepared to pay more for them.

That’s one of the key findings of a report on the feasibility and costs of technologies that automakers likely will use to meet the Obama administration’s aggressive fuel economy and tailpipe emissions regulations. Those regulations call for boosting fleetwide fuel economy to a 54.5 mpg average by the 2025 model year.

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TheSteve - 6/19/2015 10:13:57 AM

+2 Boost

I've seen reports like this forecast that computer hard disk drives will reach their capacity limits at 8TB...and then Western Digital announced 10TB drives. The flawed conclusions for this car prediction, as in the computer hard disk prediction, are based on the erroneous assumption of "all other things being equal." And as we all know, all other factors do not stay the same and only one (fuel economy) changes.

Europe keeps getting more and more fuel-efficient engines than North America, many of them diesels, the reason being that their fuel prices are scary-high compared to ours, so there is a widespread public demand for higher fuel economy, rather than needing CAFE-like legislation to push automakers in that direction.

In my anything-but-humble option, US automakers either need to keep investing in fuel-efficiency R&D, legislated or not, or they'll be caught with their pants down yet again when Americans feel the sting of high gas prices and turn to more compelling and more fuel-efficient foreign cars to help ease the pain at the gas pump. Meanwhile, US automakers will cry foul, as they have in the past, and need tariffs, import restrictions, or bailouts. It's all happened before, and more than once.

TheSteve - 6/19/2015 10:15:19 AM

+1 Boost

(typo: option -> opinion)

FormerBenz - 6/19/2015 4:11:05 PM

0 Boost

Question.... WHY? When gasoline is too expensive to buy or its clearly running out, alternatives will be developed. I personally think the Gubment wants everyone in public transportation, period. Driving the cost of personal transportation out of reach of the average Joe will do just that. Once again the Govt of the people, by the people and for the people are screwing the people. Rich people can buy anything they want or so its said. So the idea is to get the masses, the maggotry, force them into PT. There is no justification for 54 mpg I mean really? Perhaps all "Public Servants" should be forced to drive themselves everywhere they go, clearly the rules they make do not affect them. What are the benefits if the products will then be unattainable and then the health of the companies/employers is in jeopardy.