CAFE Standards
Once again, one of the big battles of the current energy bill debate will be over raising the CAFE standards on cars and trucks. On the one side, John Kerry and others are insisting that standards be raised to 35 mpg by 2020. On the other side, you have folks like the Bush Administration, which expressed opposition to any numerical standards whatsoever, which is an almost shockingly outdated position.
The thing is, there’s zero reason why we shouldn’t adopt those higher standards. Wired Magazine has a multimedia gallery showing some of the technologies that are available right now, and, looking through it, I was struck again at how backward-looking the debate from the other side is. There are so many technologies out there that, with the true cost of carbon emissions built into the economy, would flourish and give us an entirely new economy. Here’s the description of one:
British electric motor manufacturer PML Flightlink yanks the engine, brakes and transmission out of a BMW Mini, and replaces them with small electric motors in each wheel. The result rivals the Tesla Roadster in performance: zero to 60 in about four seconds and 200 miles or more between recharging sessions. With a small gasoline motor to recharge the battery, the car gets 80 miles per gallon on longer drives.
That electric Tesla they mention that goes 0-60 in under four seconds and gets 200 miles to the charge is available for purchase right now (it’s a luxury sports car whose very high price is going to subsidize development of electric cars are normal prices, according to Tesla). The piece also mentions an engine from a Massachusetts company that compresses the air in one cylinder before it’s mixed with fuel and ignited in the other; this reduces toxic emissions by 80 percent.
All of this is available to us, if Congress has the vision to create a new playing field for automotive entrepreneurs. Call your Senator today and tell them that raising CAFE standards is important to you.
The British Empire dominated the age of coal and steam; the United States economy dominated the era of petroleum. Let’s create a new prosperity by transitioning to a 21st century energy economy.
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I do some work with the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and would encourage Senator Kerry to support the Pryor-Bond-Levin-Voinovich Amendment which would increase standards for passenger cars to at least 36 miles per gallon average by 2022 and would increase standards for light trucks to at least 30 mpg by 2025. We agree that higher standards are necessary and believe that these goals are lofty yet achievable. Those interested in the amendment can find more information at http://www.drivecongress.com.
DriveCongress, 30 mpg is nowhere near enough. The only reason you and your compatriots are pushing that number is that the car manufacturers are pressing the senators from those states. And the car manufacturers are pushing that because the oil companies are leaning on the car manufacturers not to increase the fuel efficiency or to slow it down as much as possible.
One would think that the intelligent people employed by the car manufacturers should realize that they live on the same planet as the rest of us and have just as much responsibility as the rest of us in mitigating and reversing as much as we can of human-caused climate change.
As Sen. Kerry has often said, the science says we have about a 10 year window. Beyond that, consequences are catastrophic and the car manufacturers and oil companies will regret not making the little changes when they could have done so.
Please go back to your employers and those who you lobby for and ask them to make it 50 mpg by 2025.
There is no technological reason why you cannot do that. Just a failure of will and weakness in resolve, an inability to stand up and do what’s right.
Consumers need choice in fuel efficient vehicles, and we need it now, not after it’s too late to reverse the effects of greenhouse gasses.
I’m not an expert, I’m a consumer who is currently car shopping and finding it incredibly frustrating trying to find a car that’s fuel efficient, reasonably priced and, well, cool enough to want to drive.
There are a lot of us who like cars AND who care about the planet. The auto manufacturers just aren’t listening to people who want to buy a more environmentally friendly vehicle, but who don’t really want to drive the same car as every other ‘tree hugger’ on the road. There’s almost no choice when it comes to hybrids. Several SUVs, a couple midsize cars and the Prius. Sorry, GM/Toyota/Saturn et al, but *yawn*.
Congress has got to set standards. And not just to get the urban assault vehicles off the road (are they planning to invade downtown?), but to give drivers who care about reducing our impact on the climate some options.
The auto makers just don’t ‘get’ that while most people want to do the right thing for the environment, we don’t all want to drive Priuses (Prii?). If they had looked beyond their own bottom line years ago, they wouldn’t be fighting these regulations now.
We’re running out of time.
I will buy the SUV and/or Van for my buisiness, with the best mileage and the most reliability.
The 3 biggest (but not for long) auto manufacturers have there “Values” misplaced.
While they rally the politicians to reduce MPG expectations...I , the consumer, search for the most reliable, thus economical, and fun vehicle that I can find. American autos never live up to any of those standards.
Let them waste their $$$$ on Policial whores ...the Asians will provide us vehicles with Clean Diesel as well as Hybrid.....and they will be RELIABLE.
Thank you for your time
GV,
“Prii” ??
Love it !