Hold Your Horses: Obama to Handle Bush's CAFE Ruling

Thursday January 8, 2009

In December of 2007 I told you that President Bush had voted to enact new fuel economy standards for automakers. The ruling is known as the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

As part of this ruling, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was to enact interim standards for vehicles produced between 2011 and 2015. This standard would help the car makers meet their ultimate fleet goal of 35 MPG by the year 2020. That means every vehicle in the company's fleet will contribute to a MPG average across the board. This average must be 35 MPG or less. Even one vehicle with a terrible MPG average could cause problems for the company's average as a whole.

Well, in a surprising turn of events, it appears as though this portion of the deal is on hold. Current standards for 2009 are 27.5 MPG for cars. Companies, such as Ford, need to know what the standards will be for 2011, onward, so they can finalize their vehicle lineups. They've got important decisions to make. You know, deciding things like the return of a 5.0L V-8 engine in the Ford Mustang!

Unfortunately last year's down turn in the economy (i.e. automaker bailouts) means the auto industry will need to be analyzed in more detail before any official ruling is made. The deadline for the ruling will be April 1st. According to some reports, Obama's administration may work to move towards the 35 MPG goal more aggressively than was originally planned. This, they say, would make it even more difficult for the automakers to successfully launch performance cars with big V-8 engines. Things are sure to get interesting.

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Sources: Automotive News and Motor Trend