R-34
05-27-2003, 12:36 PM
SUVs Get Tougher Fuel Rules
The Augusta Chronicle - April 17, 2003
Automakers will be forced to make their sport-utility vehicles, pickups and minivans go farther on a gallon of gas under new rules federal regulators issuedlast week.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will require automakers to raise the corporate average fuel economy for light trucks by 1.5 miles per gallon between model years 2005 and 2007, the largest increase in fuel economy standards in 20 years.
Under the rule, which NHTSA proposed in December and adopted after a public comment period, the current standard of 20.7 miles per gallon will increase to 21 miles per gallon in model year 2005, 21.6 miles per gallon in model year 2006 and 22.2 miles per gallon in model year 2007.
NHTSA administrator Dr. Jeffrey Runge said the new requirements reflect the Bush administration's commitment to "improving vehicle fuel economy while protecting passenger safety and American jobs."
This is the first change in the federal fuel economy regulations that vehicles in the light-truck segment must meet since Congress froze the current standard in 1996.
The change was viewed as a modest increase for the automakers, yet many of them said that meeting the new fuel-economy standards will be a challenge. More than half the vehicles U.S. automakers sell are light trucks.
"In order to meet the target, we're going to have to change American buying habits," said Eron Shosteck, a spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents the automakers. "Nonetheless, we are committed to meeting it and working with NHTSA."
Meanwhile, environmental groups say a 1.5-mile-per-gallon increase over the next few years is only a drop in the bucket given the advanced technologies the auto companies have to improve fuel efficiency. It also won't make a big difference in reducing the nation's reliance on foreign oil, they say.
"The agency's rule-making on this matter is a sham," Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook said in a statement. "NHTSA failed to budge from its proposal last fall, deciding instead to ratify numbers it had already set, despite receiving tens of thousands of comments from citizens calling for a tougher standard."
Improving the fuel economy of sport-utilities and other light trucks has become a contentious issue among environmental groups.
Copyright 2003 The Augusta Chronicle.
The Augusta Chronicle - April 17, 2003
Automakers will be forced to make their sport-utility vehicles, pickups and minivans go farther on a gallon of gas under new rules federal regulators issuedlast week.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will require automakers to raise the corporate average fuel economy for light trucks by 1.5 miles per gallon between model years 2005 and 2007, the largest increase in fuel economy standards in 20 years.
Under the rule, which NHTSA proposed in December and adopted after a public comment period, the current standard of 20.7 miles per gallon will increase to 21 miles per gallon in model year 2005, 21.6 miles per gallon in model year 2006 and 22.2 miles per gallon in model year 2007.
NHTSA administrator Dr. Jeffrey Runge said the new requirements reflect the Bush administration's commitment to "improving vehicle fuel economy while protecting passenger safety and American jobs."
This is the first change in the federal fuel economy regulations that vehicles in the light-truck segment must meet since Congress froze the current standard in 1996.
The change was viewed as a modest increase for the automakers, yet many of them said that meeting the new fuel-economy standards will be a challenge. More than half the vehicles U.S. automakers sell are light trucks.
"In order to meet the target, we're going to have to change American buying habits," said Eron Shosteck, a spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents the automakers. "Nonetheless, we are committed to meeting it and working with NHTSA."
Meanwhile, environmental groups say a 1.5-mile-per-gallon increase over the next few years is only a drop in the bucket given the advanced technologies the auto companies have to improve fuel efficiency. It also won't make a big difference in reducing the nation's reliance on foreign oil, they say.
"The agency's rule-making on this matter is a sham," Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook said in a statement. "NHTSA failed to budge from its proposal last fall, deciding instead to ratify numbers it had already set, despite receiving tens of thousands of comments from citizens calling for a tougher standard."
Improving the fuel economy of sport-utilities and other light trucks has become a contentious issue among environmental groups.
Copyright 2003 The Augusta Chronicle.