US Fuel Efficiency Standards Too Low?

Last week we discussed the new US fuel efficiency standards that were agreed between the White House, Environmentalists and the Auto Industry. We questioned the concerns of those who suggest that US consumers will not spend extra money on a more fuel efficient car unless the cost of fuel increases and remains high.

Continuing with this topic, we have also heard from the other side of the spectrum that the fuel efficiency standard of 39 mpg for a passenger car to be met in incremental stages before 2016 is too low. Here they may have a point. The average fuel efficiency of all cars, SUVs and minivans in the US is around 23 mpg. In Europe and Japan that figure is over 40 mpg. So if Europe and Japan already produce cars with an average fuel consumption higher than the standard set to be reached in the US by 2016 then why is this standard so low.

While you can buy a few cars in the US that get great fuel economy (Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid, Mini Cooper, Smart and now the VW Jetta TDI), around 40 mpg, there are not too many and at least 2 of them (the Mini and the Smart) are small cars. One of the reasons Europe in particular has such a good average fuel efficiency is that there are numerous cars that use clean diesel engines. In fact back in 2002 when I (Dudley) Lived in England I drove a VW Golf TDI (diesel) that got about 50 mpg, . In fact diesel engines get at least 30% more fuel efficiency than gas powered engines.

So why do we not have more diesel powered cars in the USA? Diesel engines actually produce less carbon dioxide emissions than gas powered cars but unfortunately they give off other pollutants such as Nitrogen Oxide and other small particulates. In the USA and particularly some states the emission standards are high and the higher sulfur content in US diesel means many diesel engines cannot meet these stricter standards. In Europe this problem is averted because their diesel has a much lower sulfur content than the diesel produced in the USA and therefore gives off less Nitrogen Oxide and particulates. The German engineered cars (Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes) also seem to be far ahead in producing clean burning diesel engines.

So we know how Europe achieves its 40mpg average fuel efficiency standard with diesel powered cars. We also know that there are less diesel cars in the US because of the concerns with emissions but that the technology is improving quickly and some diesel cars that are now meeting the emissions standards and being sold in the US.

If we take these diesel engines into account in the US, knowing that they can achieve fuel efficiency standards above 40mpg already then the 39 mpg standard set passenger cars by 2016 is really not good enough.

But lets look at this in a different way. Until now very few diesel powered cars have been sold in the US and if standards for gas powered cars was to increase to 39 mpg that would be a reasonable goal. If a smallish gas powered car in 2009 averages 30 mpg, then a 30% increase to 39 mpg over 7 years should be an achievable goal for most car manufacturers.

At http://www.gogreenmug.com/ we would love to see much higher standards but we also expect that once car manufacturers start to improve fuel efficiency there will be no point stopping at 39 mpg, because in the end we know that gas prices will rise and the demand for ever more fuel efficient vehicles will increase. We hope to see a hard drive storage space like evolution in fuel efficiency soon.

The Case for Raising the Fuel Efficiency of Cars

Last week President Obama announced an agreement between the White House, Environmentalists and the auto industry to increase the average fuel efficiency of passenger cars to 39 mpg. Unfortunately this cannot become the standard overnight or within the next year and the car manufacturers will have until 2016 to meet this standard. None the less it is a great achievement and proves that those of us who care about our environment now have a strong supporter in the White House.

There are always those who will find fault with a policy such as raising the fuel efficiency standards. One that particularly concerns us, suggests that consumers will prefer to buy gas guzzling cars as long as the price of fuel remains in the $2 to $3 range. Therefore although the car manufacturers will build fuel efficient hybrids and electric vehicles, the consumer will still want to buy large V8 SUVs.

We believe most people understand the need for increased fuel efficiency vehicles both for the environment and for economic, political and international stability and will buy more fuel efficient cars, when there is a large selection available. For those who do not buy into the reduce waste and save idea, the US government can always increase taxes on fuel (the US driver still pays less for gas than in most other developed nations) and pay off some of the US national debt.
Let's take a step back here though. The reason we want and need fuel efficient and zero emission cars is not only based on the price of gas at the pump. We all know that right now the Hybrid and Electric cars sell at a premium to their all gas counterparts and there are concerns that the car prices will skyrocket with the fuel efficiency standards. But we are already seeing that new hybrids are causing competition and reducing prices and we imagine that with more hybrids and electric vehicles on offer and increased competition from different car manufacturers the price of a fuel efficient vehicle will not be too different from those of a less efficient vehicle today.

At http://www.gogreenmug.com/ we are all about reducing waste. So what is important to us is that all cars will have better fuel efficiency by 2016 and competition will take care of the prices. Remember though that there are already many cars available that get more than the proposed 2016 standard of 39 mpg. So if you plan to buy a new car before then look out for those with the best Environmental Performance ratings (discussed in a previous post http://gogreenmug.blogspot.com/2009/03/buying-environmentally-clean-car.html), there is no need to wait.

Have a great week and reduce your waste.