In 1975 the U.S. Congress passed legislation which created the Corporate Average Fuel Economy Regulations also known as CAFE. The standards require automobile and light truck manufacturers to offer vehicles which meet or exceed a fuel efficiency standard set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Environmental Protection Agency was assigned the task of calculating the average fuel economy of each manufacturer.
Since then the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has set new fuel economy standards for certain years. The standards set goals that the fleets have to meet through the years up to a specific target year.
In March of last year the Obama Administration set new fuel economy standards for 2016. CAFE required manufacturers to offer automobiles that achieve an average of 34.1 miles per gallon by the 2016 model year. Companies that don't reach the standards can be fined. Since 1983, manufacturers have paid more than $500 million in civil penalties for not making standards.
As a result of these standards and the automakers' ability to step up to the challenge, we have hybrid and electric vehicles today. Moreover, gas engine cars have been improved to provide miles per gallon numbers that were considered impossible in 1974. Auto manufacturers are not afraid of CAFE regulations today because they have developed the technology which assists them in achieving the standards.
Of course, achieving new CAFE standards cost money for the manufacturers, and they have passed on those additional costs to the consumer. For example, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration forecasts that automakers will spend $51.5 billion during the next five years in order to get their 2016 model year fleet to meet the standard. As a result the agency expects the cost of new cars to increase by $985 by 2016. Still, the better fuel efficiency will result in a savings of $3,000 for the car owner due to fuel savings and improvements to the vehicle.
Automakers are confident that many of the cars they already make will meet the 2016 CAFE standard. In 2010 when the new standard was announced cars that exceeded the standard of 34.1 miles per gallon were actually achieving 35.5 mpg. These included the Ford Fusion Hybrid, the Mercury Milan Hybrid, the Toyota Prius, the Honda Insight, Honda Civic Hybrid and the Mercedes-Benz Smart.
Car companies have been able to meet and exceed even the newest standard because of new technology developments. For example, Ford now has the EcoBoost engine. The engine, which features dual direct fuel injection and a lot of aluminum parts, was first introduced as a six cylinder in 2009. The engine performs like an eight cylinder and improves fuel efficiency by 20 percent and reduces CO2 emissions by 15 percent. The company has since come out with a four-cylinder EcoBoost engine that is said to perform like a six-cylinder and the company plans to offer a 1.0 liter, three cylinder engine.
Manufacturers have come up with other tricks that improve fuel economy. They have improved the vehicle's silhouette to assure better co-efficiency. They have come up with ways to turn off cylinders when not needed, thus saving on fuel. They have come up with Start-Stop technology on hybrid cars that turns off the engine when the car is stopped in city traffic and then restarts the engine when the driver steps on the brake or the throttle. Moreover, some car companies have a shutter behind the front grille that closes to assure better co-efficiency when the car exceeds a certain speed.
Since then the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has set new fuel economy standards for certain years. The standards set goals that the fleets have to meet through the years up to a specific target year.
In March of last year the Obama Administration set new fuel economy standards for 2016. CAFE required manufacturers to offer automobiles that achieve an average of 34.1 miles per gallon by the 2016 model year. Companies that don't reach the standards can be fined. Since 1983, manufacturers have paid more than $500 million in civil penalties for not making standards.
As a result of these standards and the automakers' ability to step up to the challenge, we have hybrid and electric vehicles today. Moreover, gas engine cars have been improved to provide miles per gallon numbers that were considered impossible in 1974. Auto manufacturers are not afraid of CAFE regulations today because they have developed the technology which assists them in achieving the standards.
Of course, achieving new CAFE standards cost money for the manufacturers, and they have passed on those additional costs to the consumer. For example, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration forecasts that automakers will spend $51.5 billion during the next five years in order to get their 2016 model year fleet to meet the standard. As a result the agency expects the cost of new cars to increase by $985 by 2016. Still, the better fuel efficiency will result in a savings of $3,000 for the car owner due to fuel savings and improvements to the vehicle.
Automakers are confident that many of the cars they already make will meet the 2016 CAFE standard. In 2010 when the new standard was announced cars that exceeded the standard of 34.1 miles per gallon were actually achieving 35.5 mpg. These included the Ford Fusion Hybrid, the Mercury Milan Hybrid, the Toyota Prius, the Honda Insight, Honda Civic Hybrid and the Mercedes-Benz Smart.
Car companies have been able to meet and exceed even the newest standard because of new technology developments. For example, Ford now has the EcoBoost engine. The engine, which features dual direct fuel injection and a lot of aluminum parts, was first introduced as a six cylinder in 2009. The engine performs like an eight cylinder and improves fuel efficiency by 20 percent and reduces CO2 emissions by 15 percent. The company has since come out with a four-cylinder EcoBoost engine that is said to perform like a six-cylinder and the company plans to offer a 1.0 liter, three cylinder engine.
Manufacturers have come up with other tricks that improve fuel economy. They have improved the vehicle's silhouette to assure better co-efficiency. They have come up with ways to turn off cylinders when not needed, thus saving on fuel. They have come up with Start-Stop technology on hybrid cars that turns off the engine when the car is stopped in city traffic and then restarts the engine when the driver steps on the brake or the throttle. Moreover, some car companies have a shutter behind the front grille that closes to assure better co-efficiency when the car exceeds a certain speed.
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