New cars and trucks will have to get 30 percent better mileage starting in 2016 under an Obama administration move to curb emissions tied to smog and global warming, sources said Monday.
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Administration sources said the Obama administration will adopt the 30 percent goal with the 2016 deadline, and will phase it in starting with 2011 vehicle models.
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Obama's plan also would effectively end litigation between states and automakers, which sought to block state-specific rules.
The new federal rules would prompt automakers to drop their lawsuit. Two car companies that have been part of the litigation, General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, have received billions in government loans during a plunge in car sales amid a weakened economy. Read more.
The new CAFE fuel standards is exactly the guidance the auto industry needs. CAFE standards (the average miles per gallon) have barely changed since enacted in the 1970s. It's been 27.5 miles per gallon since 1990. During the campaign Obama proposed increasing the CAFE standard 4% each year.
President Barack Obama will announce on Tuesday plans for a new national fuel economy, or CAFE, standard for automobiles in an effort to give more certainty to car companies as they struggle for survival, industry sources told POLITICO on Monday.The new standard is likely to be a substantial boost:
The administration will bill the tailpipe-emissions announcement as historic, because it avoids a patchwork of standards and harmonizes so many stakeholders, including automakers, state governments, the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency.
In secret conversations, the Obama administration has lined up support from many state governments and a huge array of domestic and foreign automakers, including GM, Ford, Chrysler, BMW and many more.
Top officials are flying into Washington from around the world for the White House announcement.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, is expected to attend, the sources said. Read more at Politico
Now, there'll be one standard, nationwide, which provides that all important certainty for automakers....even as they face the task of reaching CA's Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards, which would see auto emissions decline by 33% in seven years, well ahead of the current national standard, which would achieve such a reduction by 2020. On average, cars sold in California would have to run 35 miles on every gallon of fuel.
Nationwide, that means a 40% increase in the efficiency of automobiles. A spokesman for the Environmental Protection Agency referred requests for details to the White House; a spokesman did not immediately return a call for comment. The Department of Transportation regulates CAFE standards. MA
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