Autoblog

The final 2007 model year tally of corporate average fuel economy for automakers selling cars in the U.S. is done, and Toyota came out on top of the heap again among the big brands. However, Toyota was not the overall winner. That honor went to none other than Lotus with 30.2 mpg! Lotus however is a very small fish in a huge if shrinking pond, having only sold six hundred 2007 model cars here. Toyota sold a couple more than that and averaged 29.69 mpg with its lineup of Priuses, Camrys, Corollas and Tundras. The no. 1 brand edged out Honda and Hyundai, which got 29.47 and 29.39 respectively. The Detroit based automakers? Well, not so good. GM, Ford and the then DaimlerChrysler brought up the rear with 25.16, 25.15 and 23.97. The 2008 numbers should show a significant improvement for all three companies now that truck sales have gone in the toilet and they are selling whatever smaller cars they have as fast as they can build them. Chrysler will also benefit by not including Mercedes-Benz in its numbers.

The averages are sales weighted and based on fuel economy numbers from 1970s era test procedures rather than the new lower mileage numbers that can be found on current window stickers, so keep that in mind. You can check out the full report at the NHTSA web-site including numbers for previous model years.

[Source: NHSTA, via Toyota Open Road Blog, Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty]

With the Feds eager to keep raising the bar on CAFE standards, and apparently doing so based on proposed future technologies, General Motors Corp. bluntly told federal regulators not to count on the Chevrolet Volt, or other planned plug-in hybrids, when proposing new rules. GM is maintaining the position that those vehicles will be built in such low numbers through 2015, that they won't make a significant enough impact on the fleet. As it stands, Chevy plans to be build 10,000 Volts in 2011 (the first year of production), and 60,000 the following year... and meeting those numbers is highly dependent on outside suppliers for battery and technology delivery (let's hope they don't mimic the problems Toyota is having with the Prius battery supply). It was earlier this year when the NHTSA proposed a 25 percent increase in fuel economy rules from 2011 through 2015. It has been estimated that meeting those standards would cost GM about $17.3 billion. Although GM isn't trying to skirt tougher regulations, it is their goal to set "reasonable perspectives" with regulators. At a time when GM is struggling to survive (and they are not alone), the CAFE noose just may need to be loosened a bit.

[Source: Freep]

Earlier this year, the Bush administration surprised a lot of green activists by actually surpassing the already challenging CAFE standards for 2011-2015. While automakers like Toyota, Ford, and GM are quietly going about the business of hitting those targets, BMW is speaking up and saying that the targets are unattainable. The German automaker has asked the Bush administration for an alternative plan that helps out the hardest hit automakers, and the new rules are a punch to the gut for the Bavarian Motor crew.

While the corporate average for cars and trucks is 35.7 mpg and 28.6 mpg by 2015, BMW has to hit 37.7 mpg and 31.7 mpg, respectively. The reason for the disparity is the sliding scale the government used to account for differences in size in each automaker's lineup. Since BMW doesn't sell pickup trucks and it has plenty of small and midsize offerings, BMW has to hit higher fuel economy standards. What the CAFE numbers don't take into account is the fact that all BMWs are RWD, and there isn't a four cylinder engine to be found (in the U.S., yet). The Bush administration says its final fuel economy numbers will become public by the end of the year, and if companies like BMW don't get special dispensations, look for there to be smaller engines on the horizion, or bigger fines.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

A scientist in the U.S. Department of Energy's science and energy research unit has said "Energy independence is a realistic goal for the United State of America," by 2030. There are, of course, a few caveats to that. First is that by the word "independence," he doesn't mean not using any oil entirely -- he means getting oil consumption down to a point where our usage is "not subject to restraining or directly influenced by others as consequence of the need for oil."

That, Greene says, is an issue of economics, not one of politics or the military (inasmuch as they can be separated). The key is to get the cost of importing oil down to one-percent or less of the U.S. GDP, which, by the way, is where it was during the heady we-can-take-baths-in-oil-there's-so-much-of-it decade of 1990-2000.

Greene thinks the Energy Independence Security Act will be the guide leading the way to this kind of oil independence, due to the CAFE increase, decreased demand for thirsty vehicles, and increased production and demand for biofuels and alternative energy cars. So now that the oil situation is licked, the only thing you'll need to worry about come 2030 is paying $12 for a cob of corn.

[Source: WardsAuto]

Porsche remains resolute in the face of the United States' proposed fuel economy standards. Speaking with Automotive News, Porsche's North American CEO, Detlev von Platen, made it clear that the automaker's plan for the future is to create the same compelling vehicles it has in the past, but its focus on fuel efficiency won't come at the expense of Porsche's products.

"We will make our cars more fuel efficient," von Platen told AN, "but it will not change our nature." As such, Porsche doesn't intend to produce smaller vehicles, nor will it look to diesels or small-displacement engines. Instead, it's bucking the trend set by BMW, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz – which are about introduce a new range of diesel vehicles in the U.S. – by bringing the hybrid Cayenne, jointly developed with Volkswagen and Audi, to market towards the end of 2010. The NA exec goes on to say that none of Porsche's U.S. lineup is slapped with a gas-guzzler tax, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Association's proposed regulations will require Porsche's corporate average fuel economy to rise to 41.3 mpg in 2015. That means the 911 would need to exceed the current Toyota Camry's fuel economy numbers due to the coupe's footprint. Unfortunately, von Platen didn't divulge how the automaker would meet NHTSA's stringent demands. More turbos? Less weight? We should have a clearer idea by the turn of the decade.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

Thinking of trading your gas-guzzling SUV in for something smaller, a bit more fuel efficient? You are not alone. The rocketing cost of gasoline, and diesel fuel, is having a ripple effect on the SUV market. With consumers trading in their behemoths by the thousands in exchange for more frugal transportation, dealers are stuck with a surplus of unwanted sport-utes sitting on their lots with values dissolving.

Diesel-burning trucks aren't immune either. As diesel fuel costs hovering about fifty cents per-gallon above gasoline, some of the bigger oil-burning SUVs and trucks are losing measurable resale by the day. Overall, according to CNW Marketing Research, used SUV sales were down 14% in March alone. With any surplus, come big discounts. It may be a ghastly time to fill a 30-gallon tank on an SUV, but it is the perfect time to negotiate with a dealer for that seven-passenger family truckster you've been fancying. No need to hurry -- there will be an even better selection tomorrow.

Thanks to Jim for the tip!

[Source: U.S. News and World Report]

Under proposed new fuel economy rules set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), automakers with powerful short-wheelbase models are going to feel some pain. The agency is considering a plan to create two sliding scales of efficiency for cars and trucks of different sizes. Automakers will be assigned fuel economy standards based on the "footprint" (short wheelbase = small footprint) of their vehicles, and the number of vehicles they sell. Companies like Porsche, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz, independent luxury brands with high-performance models, will be hit the hardest. Interestingly enough, Toyota, Chrysler, and General Motors, big players with diverse model lineups, won't feel as much pressure.

Conforming to the tough new proposed rules may be very expensive. As a result, some industry executives expect some automakers, such as Porsche, just to pay the fines--it's less costly than changing a model lineup. Regulators are under the gun to adopt a policy by April 1, 2009. In the meantime, the NHTSA will be taking public comments over the next two months. Time to send 'em a letter...

[Source: Autoweek]

Last December, President Bush signed a new energy bill into law that requires automakers to achieve a Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard of 35 mpg by 2020. This historic stiffening of CAFE standards set a lofty goal, but left plenty of time to get there and new standards of any kind won't begin until the 2011 model year. Today, which happens to be Earth Day, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters laid out the first set of new CAFE rules that will be implemented for passenger vehicles and light trucks from 2011 through 2015.

The first step on the path to 35 mpg by 2020 will be increases of 4.5% in CAFE standards for passenger vehicles and light trucks over the five-year period spanning 2011 and 2015. This means that standards for passenger vehicles will rise from the current 27.5 mpg to 35.7 mpg by 2015, while light trucks will go from 23.5 mpg to 28.6 mpg. The NHTSA claims the new interim standards will save 55 billion gallons of gasoline and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 521 million metric tons. They also claim that drivers will save $100 billion in fuel costs over the lifetime of vehicles that fall under the rule.

We decided to reach out to the Big 3 automakers in the U.S. to ask for a comment, and both Ford and Chrysler are keeping mum until they've had a chance to read over the new rules. General Motors, meanwhile, already released a statement reiterating what it said last December, which is that it will meet the new standards despite how tough they are.

Automakers are also able to earn credits when they happen to exceed the CAFE standards, and can either bank those for a time when they won't meet them or even sell the credits to other automakers at a cost below what the fine would be for not meeting the standards. We've heard rumors, for instance, that Honda's sitting on a healthy pile of credits.

Now that we have an actual CAFE target for the auto industry to hit in the near term, expect to see a flurry of activity from automakers. Lithium-ion plug-in hybrids, series hybrids, diesels and all-electric cars will likely be the new technologies that help the industry meet these new interim CAFE standards by 2015, and the first change set for 2011 is not far away at all.

[Source: NHTSA]

The Bush camp hasn't exactly been extolled for its green virtue over the past seven years, but the administration is trying to make up for lost time by announcing 2011-2015 CAFE targets on Earth Day. Department of Transportation Secretary Mary Peters is scheduled to announce the targets, which are expected to be differentiated by vehicle size, by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Automakers already know they have to get to 35 mpg by 2020, so the 2011-2015 targets should be somewhere between the magic number and today's 27.5 mpg for cars and 22.5 mpg for trucks.

While news of 2011-2015 fuel economy standards isn't exactly the stuff that makes blood boil, today's announcement will help shape what vehicles you'll be able to buy in the years ahead. Something tells us the horsepower war is almost over.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

In a move sure to be embraced by environmentalists, a panel of trusted outside experts is finally recommending to federal regulators that light-duty diesel engines and hybrids should be regarded as available technologies to improve fuel economy. Neither of these technologies were included in a previous report released in 2001 when hybrids were not as mainstream as they are today and diesel emissions standards were lower than they are now.

The study is part of an initiative to meet the stricter standards set by our nation's new energy law enacted this past December. That measure calls for a 40-percent increase in both car and truck standards to a 35 mpg fleet average by 2020. While the addition of diesel and hybrid technology is welcomed news, the recommendation is embarrassingly behind the times (at least for hybrids) and this time around forgets to include all-electric and hydrogen fuel cell technologies.

[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]