CAFE? Yeah right! says Porsche

The way the draft rules have been defined for the new Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard, Porsche is at a distinct disadvantage. Because the standards for any given vehicle are based on the size of the vehicle, Porsche's relatively small cars have to meet a higher standard than other manufacturers. Apparently Porsche doesn't really care. Detlev von Platen the new CEO of Porsche Cars North America has declared that the German sports car (and SUV) builder will not downsize its vehicles or engines and will not use diesel engines. Porsche doesn't plan to change the high performance nature of its vehicles according to von Platen, although they will increase the fuel efficiency of those vehicles. The Cayenne SUV and the upcoming Panamera four door will both get a new hybrid powertrain that will be shared with Volkswagen and Audi. However, the Cayenne hybrid won't appear until at least late 2010. Porsche has managed to increase the fuel economy of its vehicles to the point that none of the current models are subject to the gas guzzler tax and last year the company average was high enough to avoid a CAFE fine. Going forward that will almost certainly change as Porsche doesn't have any expectation of meeting the 41.3mpg average the new draft rules would impose on the company by 2015.

[Source: Autoweek]