Obama: CAFE increase to unified national standard of 35.5 mpg by 2016
by Sebastian Blanco on May 19th 2009 at 12:55PM 
Aside from the Daimler-Tesla announcement earlier today, the big green car news for May 19 is the increase in CAFE standards that President Obama made just a short while ago, joined by Governors Jennifer Granholm (MI), Deval Patrick (MA) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (CA), members of Congress and Ron Gettelfinger (of the UAW), among others. Obama said the agreement was "an historic agreement to help America break its addiction to oil." Here are the details:- Currently, the DOT manages fuel economy, the EPA deals with emissions, and CA can use the Clean Air Act to come up with even more stringent rules. This could create a situation where car makers have to deal with rules from three agencies. The new rule is a national standard that CA will support and the DOT and EPA will both adopt.
- The CAFE standard will increase by five percent each year, building on the 2011 standard, until we get to 2016. This means an Industry standard of 35.5 mpg by 2016, an average increase of eight mpg per vehicle.
- Drivers will recoup the additional cost to buy one of these more-efficient vehicles in three years. Drivers will, over the life of the vehicle, save $2,800, on average, he said.
- Obama said the new rule will save 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the next five years, and is the projected equivalent of taking 58 million vehicles off the road.
- Despite previous disagreements between environmental and industry groups, the national policy has been agreed on and a series of "major lawsuits" will be dropped.
[Source: Whitehouse.gov]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
gintonics 1:14PM (5/19/2009)
About time.
Reply
Sea Urchin 1:01PM (5/19/2009)
Even with this law USA is far behind EU, Japan and China. As always, national security does not matter compared to the freedom to drive what we want.
Average Soccer mom is far more outraged by gas increasing by 10 pennies than by the war the nation has to fight to make that oil available.
Obama should do what is right, CAFÉ+ at 50 cent tax on gas now and 50 cent tax on gas in 2011 (after mid term elections)
Reply
John 1:20PM (5/19/2009)
People like you will only be happy when we all live on communes and ride bikes.
Beastage 1:24PM (5/19/2009)
@ John, no, people like him and me will only be happy when the US will have the public transit, public education system and health care that are worthy of the greatest nation on the earth as Americans like to claim it is.
no. 1:28PM (5/19/2009)
Beastage, I suggest you go back to school and learn a lesson or two on the philosophy behind individualism and individual liberty. I should be able to do whatever I want without people like you forcing me onto a bus.
the vegas style guy 1:39PM (5/19/2009)
Bravo!
All of you who constantly bitch about Obama being a big govt socialist (which, to be honest, you have no idea what that means. And it's no more true than if I called Bush a Fascist. Cheney on the other hand...) should be happy about this.
Obama gave the nation ONE standard which should go right along with your argument that California had gone "rogue".
Of course, now you'll probably argue "states rights". Try to remember where that got you in the past before you travel that road.
American companies are the best in the world, they just got lazy (like everyone else during the Bush regime) and needed a prod to get us back to reality. I personally like having a President who gets down into the muck and forces things to happen as opposed to one (Rep or Dem) who sits on his or her ass while the country disintegrates around us.
John 1:39PM (5/19/2009)
"@ John, no, people like him and me will only be happy when the US will have the public transit, public education system and health care that are worthy of the greatest nation on the earth as Americans like to claim it is."
Coming from a guy just a few posts ago was applauding the government for directing industry more and more with less from private equity.
Take your socialism someone else, Comrade. Go find a nice Eurotrash forum to post on.
John 1:42PM (5/19/2009)
"All of you who constantly bitch about Obama being a big govt socialist (which, to be honest, you have no idea what that means."
FROM DICTIONARY.COM
Socialism: "the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles."
OBAMA:
"I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody."
WAKE UP AMERICA!!!
Btz 1:46PM (5/19/2009)
No, I suggest you go back to school and learn a lesson or two on the philosophy behind individualism and individual liberty. I should be able to do whatever I want without people like you forcing me into a car.
In Europe and most of the world you have a choice. You can live just fine without a car if that is what you choose. In the US? Many suburban streets don't even have sidewalks anymore - without a car you're homebound.
Sean 1:47PM (5/19/2009)
"Waaah socialism"
Please. Just because you don't like what he is doing doesn't make it socialism, and it's not the National Socialist Party.
I'd rather have this 'socialism' than the disgusting blight on America's pride that the last 8 years brought us.
Sea Urchin 1:48PM (5/19/2009)
@ John, Obama is a socialist, but how does that matter here? Say Bush was re-elected again, would that somehow solve the issue at hand, dirty air, oil addiction?
Yes, the guy is a commie, but that does not mean that THIS law in particular is bad.
adam1drift 2:00PM (5/19/2009)
How anyone can think that this is a great idea is beyond me...
@Beastage & @Sea Urchin you really have to be two of the Dumbest people I see posting on this blog!
I like cars, fast cars, new cars, old cars, and even green cars. I like gas! I like diesel.. I like the Hydrogen powered cars... I like all the great technology that we are coming up with on making more environmentally friendly cars, but if you think for a minute that this is all about the environment or winging us from our dependence on oil, you are mistaken...
Its all about politics... tell me why they told everyone that if the auto companies were to file for Bankrutpsy that we would fall into a deeper recession and it would collapse the US, the only alternative was to get Government Money (with strings attached) and now that they have done that the Government is still making them file for Bankrutpsy and they are still closing factories and they are still sutting down dealerships and laying off people... so what was the point?
Azael 2:08PM (5/19/2009)
Yeah, boo socialism in all its forms. We as a country should ban all forms of it; things that we collectively own and share are soo awful. We need to get rid of public roads, public libraries, fire departments, police departments, the US military, and in this case, clean breathable air.
willy 2:17PM (5/19/2009)
The Jaguar 3-litre diesel is already running 35 mpg
Smegley 2:18PM (5/19/2009)
Obama = POS.
I hate this control-happy MF more than I can say. Worthless SOB is worse than Bush.
nomercy346 2:42PM (5/19/2009)
The amount of people on here volunteering to give up their freedom for what they believe is best for society, while trying to force their beliefs on other people, is simply shocking... I have read "*insert stereotypical person here* doesn't need a crossover/SUV/truck/house/shoes/whatever" about a 1000 times this week alone. Why the hell are there so many people deciding what someone else needs or justifying someones choice when they don't even have to? What's next? You don't "need" a lot of things. Don't need a car at all, get a scooter or walk!
brainwashing really does work:(
Octantis 2:45PM (5/19/2009)
And how does going to war make oil available? Before the Iraq war all oil was sold on an open global market. After the Iraq war all oil was sold on an open global market. Attacking Iraq changes nothing about how the oil economy works. We are currently buying oil from anyone that will sell it. We aren't taking it as a war would have you believe.
MJS 3:42PM (5/19/2009)
China???? Have you seen any pictures lately??? Remember the smog from the Olympics??? These "standards" will only hurt the little guy this current government claims to want to help. The cost of all this technology will only get passed on to the consumer. Seen the prices of a Hybrid compared to a regular vehicle. Hybrids are not selling and the techology and cost are more harmful to the environment than regular combustion engines.
You have to remember, driving what type of vehicle you want to drive should be your right. If you are going to work hard and pay the price, so be it, it's your choice. It is not up to me to decide what you should drive.
I know everyone here just wants to keep the comments to "Auto". But when you have an every intrusive government telling us what is good for us, even when there is no conclusive evidence that any of this is tied to green house gases(read both side of the stories) This is all about, really, the haves-ones in government-and the have nots-ones that will have to go to the government for everything.
Look who he had by his side-the Govenor of Calif. and Mich. , which both states are chasing away jobs and revenue. California has done a wonderful job cleaning up, but at a cost to everyone else that lives here.
Stop and look at what is being done to your driving freedom. Don't let it happen by someone who will not live by the same rules, or ever have to-federal laws to not apply to the pres, senators and congressmen-they will drive and own what they want-but you, no I know what is best for you. By the way, would you like some Kool-Aid with those government cheese and crackers?
PJ 4:21PM (5/19/2009)
What happened to the spirit of innovation in this country? CAFÉ regulations have applied to new vehicles since the 1978 model year. Since then, the standard has gone from 18.0 MPG to 27.5 MPG, and is increasing to 35.5 MPG by 2016. Are we really crying “socialism” over the expectation that our cars should be twice as fuel-efficient after 40 years of development?
If you asked folks in 1978 what they thought we’d be driving in the year 2016, they’d have guessed electric power, AI, hovering, you name it. If you instead informed them that we still hadn’t made a safe, roomy car go twice as far on a gallon of gas—and, dammit, we don’t *want* to because that’s un-American!—they’d probably euthanize themselves with a handful of Quaaludes. Can’t say I’d blame them.
Flamespoke 5:22PM (5/19/2009)
Sea Urchin and others...
So taxing people who are already struggling is the better thing to do. Remember not all of us are driving SUVs. I leave it to you to tell those families who have to spend 3 to 4 grand more on a vehicle with higher monthly notes, that they'll recoupe their cost 3 years down.
I have a Mini and last summers gas prices still had me suffering...costing me $60 bucks to fill up and I get 28 mpg in the city and 36 hwy.
Any economist will tell you that raising taxes and increasing spending or cost especially in a recession doesn't work.
I live in Texas and we have the best economy of any state in the union with 75% of the jobs created in this country last year were created here....and is shown by Cali residents fleeing to Texas and Nevada (no income tax state).
So many citizens and folks abroad hate this country, yet it still is looked on as a life boat to the world. What happens when the life boat sinks!!!
If you are a liberal now, you'll feel like a conservative once all Americans get a real taste of authentic liberal thinking!