Bush Plan For 31 MPG Fuel Standard By 2015

Fleetwide Average Efficiency For New Cars More Aggressive Than Energy Law Requires

(AP)  The nation's fleet of new cars and trucks will be required to achieve 31.6 miles per gallon by 2015, the Bush administration said Tuesday.

Transportation Department Secretary Mary Peters outlined the plan on Earth Day, setting a schedule that was more aggressive than initially expected by industry officials.

Peters said the proposal was "an aggressive but achievable standard. I think we've got something that is going to significantly save fuel and help clean our air."

The plan responds to a new energy law pushed by Congress and signed by President Bush that requires the nation's new cars and trucks, taken as a collective average, to meet 35 mpg by 2020.

New cars and trucks will have to meet a fleetwide average of 31.6 mpg by 2015, or about a 4.5 percent annual increase from 2011 to 2015.

The fleetwide average doesn't mean that all vehicles have to achieve the target efficiency - larger vehicles will not be as fuel efficient as smaller ones - only that collectively passenger vehicles average that figure.

The plan is expected to save 54.7 billion gallons of oil and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 521 million metric tons over the life of the new vehicles built between 2011-2015. It will add an average cost of $650 per passenger car and $979 per truck by 2015.

The proposal is expected to be finalized by the end of President Bush's term in office.

Automakers opposed increases to the regulations in previous years, but supported a compromise version of the legislation in Congress amid rising gasoline prices and concerns about global warming.

The regulations would require the industry to implement more than half of the fuel-efficiency requirements by 2015 and push them to build more gas-electric hybrid cars, diesel-powered trucks and SUVs and advances such as plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles.

"These numbers are very challenging. They will stretch the industry to innovate in ways they haven't had to do in the past and will continue to set us on a course to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from new autos," said Charles Territo, a spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents General Motors Corp., Toyota Motor Corp., Ford Motor Co. and others.

Amid rising gasoline prices and concerns of global warming, Congress sought the tougher standards, requiring the nation's fleet of new vehicles to increase its efficiency by 10 mpg from its current average of 25 mpg, or a 40 percent increase.

The new law represented the first major changes to the auto mileage rules in three decades.

The fleet of new passenger cars is currently required to meet a 27.5 mpg average, while sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks and vans must hit a target of 22.5 mpg.

Members of Congress and environmental groups have pushed for higher standards, arguing that requiring vehicles to become more efficient would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the nation's dependence upon imported oil.

Democrats have said the fuel economy requirements will save motorists $700 to $1,000 a year in fuel costs and reduce oil demand by 1.1 million barrels a day when the more fuel-efficient vehicles are in wide use on the road.

[future121]

What I do not understand is in 1975 I had a new Subaru which gave me 49 mpg. I was able to go from Wheeling w v to Niagra Falls Canada roundtrip on one tank of gas, now we struggle to get 28 mpg, Why?

[simpsonman19]

"These numbers are very challenging. They will stretch the industry to innovate in ways they haven''t had to do in the past..."

Like realize that more and more people want hybrids instead of SUV''s. Amazing the auto industry hasn''t figured that out yet.

[rf35]

Even my ''92 Honda did far better than the 2020 requirements. It seems like car makers intentionally reduced fuel effeciency. The only reason I can think of is that they partnered with the oil industry in a move to drive up profits for both. I should be in the market for a new car around 2015. I certainly hope they''ll be doing better than 35.7 mpg. Truth be told, I hope to be able to by a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle by then. Make mine a convertible, please.

[cyberus-2009]

Ain''t it great how many things ole Bushy is going to fix by making changes that won''t take effect until years after he''s out of office? aka when its someone elses responsibility to actually DO SOMETHING

[100mpg]

When gas hit $2.00 I started thinking about doing something. When gas hit $2.50 I acted. For the past year I have driven a Plug-In Hybrid that gets over 100mpg. I charge up each night using 60 cents of Clean Domestic Wind Energy to offset the amount of Dirty Foreign Oil I use. What price does gas have to get to for you to act?

[hypnotoad72]

When the engines cannot be improved or augmented, what other materials can be used to lighten the car without adversely affecting safety? (the reason why better mpg was had in the 1970s was due to chassis design. Lighter, the engine didn''t have to push as much weight. This is also why motorcycles have great MPG ratings, but for some and for various health reasons, 2 wheels is genuinely not enough.)

Smaller cars?

Tougher road laws?

Scooters for all?

There are plenty of ways we can exceed the 31MPH standard right now. Hybrids alone are a great start, but there''s so much more that can be done.

[enlightenu]

this is just a fleetwide average. this can be achieved without one bit of innovation. high gas prices will take care of it. It will spur the sales of more hybrids, which get 50 mpg, and fewer trucks and suv''s, which get about 14 to 18 mpg. The overall shift to higher mpg cars which currently exist will raise the fleetwide average to 31.6 easily by 2015.

[minnick8-2009]

Bush is a day late and a dollar short. What plans are the candidate hopefuls making for creating an American that isn''t dependent on foreign oil?

[incog-nito]

In other news, President Bush also has plans to help the environment, fight pollution and global warming, end the Iraq conflict, bring peace to the Middle East, fight corporate corruption, send a man to Mars, bring about world peace and harmony.

Mr. Bush has indicated that he is fully committed to these goals, and plans to have them implemented AFTER he leaves office.

[hawksprings]

Carmakers have figured out how to get tremendous amounts of horsepower and torque out of smaller and smaller motors.
Now they need to put that same effort into getting more MPG out of those engines.

[veteran72]

By 2015, Shrub and Darth will have been rotting in prison for 4 or 5 years or so, along with Kindasleezy, Gonzo, Rummy, and all the rest, after being found guilty of War Crimes by the International Tribunal in the Hague. I imagine MPG will be the last thing on their Slimy Mass Murdering Minds.

[ivandrago]

It''s not so much that the auto industry has kept down fuel efficiency, it''s that every time they improve efficiency they throw it into horsepower, and size.

[fstop100]

In Europe everyone drives small cars. When you see all the SUV''s on the highways with one person in them you can see the waste. GM and it''s Hummers are one of the worst examples of selfish wasteful people.

[antoniof123]

Neo cons just don''t get it they still belive that putting all your eggs in one basket will work. I mean we need to get other energy sources not just one oil. The reason is they have risk, hey oil companies the American people have risk every day and we don''t go running to the government every time we need help. In fact thanks to you neo cons we can''t so guess in November it is going to be a blood bath.

[oneopinion]

Why doesn''t this man just shut up and stay out of sight? He even appeared on Deal or No Deal last night. Your history has been written, Mr. President. An 11th hour effort to make it look like you give a shirt isn''t going to change that. This big idea from the man who was surprised a couple weeks ago that gas could hit $4. He certainly has his finger on the pulse of all things economic.

[crouser8]

Why wait til 2015 to increase MPG by 4 miles? Lets do it 2 years. Love our Bush.

[enlightenu]

There is no replacement for oil. There is nothing on the horizon that can replace oil. Nothing comes close in terms of volume, energy, and cost. We are stuck with it so we better use it as best we can. 31.6 is not the best we can do. This is America, we can do better. Elect the right people to bring out our best.

[byeneocons]

Wow! In his final months, Bush discovers the environment and fuel conservation. Why, he''s practically a Democrat now.

[jasmine731]

Just goes to show how incompetent Mr. Bush actually is. He''s going to require that cars and trucks get 31.5 miles per gallon by 2015? That''s nuts! Why didn''t he do this years ago? He''s going to make damned sure he gets his billions before he goes out of office. He also says that fuel emmissions will be controlled by 2025, what does that do for us now? Scientists say if all fuel emissions were stopped immediately that it will take 100 years, possibly more for the atmosphere to straighten out and be free of the pollution from the emissions and other junk we are pumping into it right now.

[hungry1968]

I''ve been driving a ''07 Toyota for almost two years now, and I''m AVERAGING 30 MPG now, and most of my driving is in the city!!

31 MPG? - big deal!!

[tburzio]

Neo communists love to tell people how to do their business.

So, you think ethanol is about fuel economy? That''s nuts, Bush is an oil man. Ethanol is about Darfur! We are burning China''s corn until they behave!

[dzapple]

IT SHOULD BE 61MPG BY 2015

[talkingham]

Great, my 1992 Acura Integra with steel beams in the doors gets 32/mpg with the air conditioning running on the highway.

[ov442]

No way!, i say we mandate flyin cars that run on garbage by 2012!!

[leftyintexas]

Wow! In his final months, Bush discovers the environment and fuel conservation. Why, he''''s practically a Democrat now.

Posted by ByeNeocons at 04:08 PM : Apr 22, 2008

Please don''t insult us. DOOFUS doesn''t have enough brain cells to be a pi$$ ant or anything else for that matter. He''s just passing wind till his term is up.

[mollydtt]

By 2015, the world will be such a smogpit. Hopefully, there will be a clean alternative fuel by then. 31/mph is not much of an improvement considering there will be probably double the cars out there in 7 years. We''ll all be wearing respirators by then.

[chiknl1ttle]

31 mpg 35 years before the poles melt and TEOTWAWKI in 2050? Sounds like a great idea. I am already getting ready, building the addition to my house on stilts... Lots of cheap American labor available down here (Central American, South American, and even some from the United States of Mexico)... On the plus side, I am looking forward to having beachfront property, as the ocean is still about a mile away from my house... According to our Nobel Laureate ex-wanna-be-president, another ten years or so should do it, right?

[mainedoggie]

31 MPG? Are you kidding me? Should be 50 or 60 by then.
Too little, too late. Worst president EVER!

[incog-nito]

In other news, President Bush is set to announce in the next few months a plan to end world hunger, cure cancer, and to achieve immortality. Stay tuned.

[alexma50085]

"Bush Plan For 31 MPG Fuel Standard By 2015"

That''s so he is sure that he and his oil buddies can pull in hundreds of billions of dollars in his oil investments.
All this "Lame Duck" president is doing is pushing PR, so maybe history will look past his 8 years of blunders.

[rmwhitman]

just too little, really useless legislation, the price of oil will cause the market to drive everyone to hybrid cars with 41+ mpg anyway and Toyota/Honda will whoop up on Detroit unless we get with the program. I would love to by an American made car, made in Detroit, with 41 mpg, with Toyota type reliability, and GM, Ford, or Chrsyler logo on it.

[tomar0317]

by 2015????? We have to do better. It''s time we used our technoloy and brains to come up with better alternatives. Why not have 2015 as a deadline to become totally independant from the oil rich countries. This is possible. if we put a man on the moon we can certainly do this!

[kennedy7955]

Just amazing, President Bush talking about mpg now only as his Presidency nears its end. He had opportunities like no other president and he threw it all away and worse.

If he had only made a few good decisions, had appointed a few good and competent people around him - he could have gone down in history as one of the great leaders. Instead he will be remembered as the worst President ever and so deservedly so.

The world will breathe a deafening sigh of relief when this jackass finally leaves office. Only time will tell if we can repair the damage of the Bush legacy.

George Bush owes us all a great apology. Other than giving an apology - I hope he just goes away to never be heard from again.

[chiknl1ttle]

We need to elect officials who will reform the EPA and the DOT... Those agencies must be made accountable for keeping out the most sensible automobiles available on planet Earth... In Europe, the Prius is considered a gas hog and it is, compared to the 61 MPG Renaults Twingos and 68 MPG Citroen C1s that are available today in Europe but cannot even be imported into the U.S. due to the draconian rules of the EPA and DOT (apparently these cars would cause too much of a reduction in big oil''s grip on our collective pocket books!!!!!!!

[chiknl1ttle]

We need to elect officials who will reform the EPA and the DOT... Those agencies must be made accountable for keeping out the most sensible automobiles available on planet Earth... In Europe, the Prius is considered a gas hog and it is, compared to the 61 MPG Renaults Twingos and 68 MPG Citroen C1s that are available today in Europe but cannot even be imported used into the U.S. due to the draconian rules of the EPA and DOT (apparently these cars would cause too much of a reduction in big oil''s grip on our collective pocket books. I am sure this is not what Nader was trying to accomplish when he unwittingly caused the DOT to become what it is today.

[bogusbones]

based on these comments should i tell george not to try for a third term?

karl rove

[usbrit-2009]

Climate targets, MPG targets - WOW - all to help fight something he didn''t even believe existed until six months ago. Who''d a thunk? If he thinks this will clear his legacy he''s got even more delusional than we thought. This is like peeing on a Baja 1000 winning truck and expecting it to come out sparkling.

[bobnjersey]

[These numbers are very challenging. They will stretch the industry to innovate in ways they haven''t had to do in the past and will continue to set us on a course to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from new autos," said Charles Territo]

it''s a bush proposal ... so of course it''s voluntary ... go back to what you were doing before if it''s ''hard''.

[olebd]

The man is completely out of touch with reality. His handlers must be doing this as sort of a inside joke and chuckling their butts off.

Bush needs to retreat to his ranch and keep his mouth shut for the next 7 months.

[chrisross2008]

My Honda Civic in the UK does an average of 50mpg and that''s just the standard petrol version. The hybrid does nearer 70. Makes the 31.6mpg by 2015 look a tad pathetic. Way too little, way too late.

[prinzowhales]

What a stupendously aggressive goal...Only ten years ago we had electric cars that needed zero gas for 300 miles to the charge...and here is Bush ''pushing'' for a goal that has already been met and passed on many models...

These arse-licking chattels of Big Oil need to be whipped like dogs...31 mpg, indeed. How many oil lobbyists and Big Oil attorneys will have to be placed in croaker sacks and thrown off the 14th Street Bridge before this nation adopts an energy policy that serves the needs of the American people rather than the sewer rats at Standard, BP, AMOCO? Shell and their ilk?

[chiknl1ttle]

The law should go more along the lines of 60 MPG for all privately owned non-commercial vehicles. Tax the hell out of anything that can''t produce at least 40 MPG and outlaw SUVs... Let''s become leaders at something other than wholesale destruction.

[gce65]

Too little, too late.

[reboot7]

Of course STILL buy gas - not come up with another plan...Bush has to keep his oil company income coming in! Buy new car or buy more gas...

[bgwinnett]

Forget hybrids, lets have diesels instead. The latest diesel engines in "Yurup" do more miles to the gallon!

[irliberal]

"Bush Plan For 31 MPG Fuel Standard By 2015"

Is this a joke? This is a joke, right? After witnessing the problems our dependence on oil has caused the "plan" is to raise the fuel standard a few MPG in the next SEVEN years? HAHAHAHAHAHA

The technology exists today to do much better than that. The standard should be around 90-115 MPG after eight years. Oil men Bush and Cheney don''t want that though.

The Bush administration has been so very destructive to the American people; its amazing to me that they aren''t already all in jail.

[blackbug99]

By 2015 Bush will be a bad memory, and we might be still be dealing with his historically inept presidency.

[dzapple]

BY 2015 GAS WILL BE $10 GAL

[randynason]

As usual, the rabid pink monkey,aka, George W. Bush is 30 years late and approximately 3.5 trillion dollars short. He is an embarrassment to an educated, illectually-motivated world and ought to crawl back under the rock from whence he came.

[excoachken]

This is almost identical to the standard that Jimmy Carter wanted to put into effect in the 1970s before Reagan set us back two generations in reacting to our environmental crisis. Time for Republicans to apologize.