Pushing Everything Far in to the Future

Why not offer more fuel efficient cars in America now?

President Obama recently announced new fuel
efficiency regulations for cars and light trucks

White House Blog
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/07/29/president-obama-announces-new-fuel-economy-standards

Regulations to begin not until 2017 and continue through 2025, car-light truck fleets will be required to average 54.5 miles per gallon.

Why would President Obama be setting new fuel efficiency standards for future Presidential Administrations?

Same phenomenon with our Government's planning for the federal budget spending - "savings" in the budget generally is calculated over 10 years - a period of time out of place with respect to the service terms of Presidents and Members of Congress, and for Presidents, their being limited to a maximum of 8 years in office.

Does this political math have something to do with why our national debt is akin to a runaway train? We're counting on future 'savings' that can easily be nullified by a subsequent Administration or majority in Congress. Plans for cutting program spending are pushed off to future Presidents and members of Congress who don't want them.

Same with plans for raising fuel efficiency standards. CAFE standards for passenger cars were stuck at 27.5 miles per gallon for 20 years, from 1990 through 2010. Only in 2011 did they get a boost to 30.2 mpg. Now the Obama Administration proposes an ambitious leap to 54.5 mpg - but not something that will happen under his administration. Can Americans count on those standards actually being implemented under whomever is President from 2017 to 2025?

The CAFE standard is limited - why not also require that automakers sell certain high fuel efficiency cars, a change that, if we look at the UK and Europe, seems like it could be done in 2 years - by simply offering smaller engine vehicles.


Engines in cars sold in America usually are 1.4 liters or larger. But many automakers offer 1.0L to 1.2 litre engine models for the UK-Europe markets, where gasoline costs yet more than it does at $3.60 to $4.00 in the USA today.


Fiat - which is now selling it FIAT 500 in the US with a 1.36 litre engine, claims 30/38mpg city/highway fuel economy - whereas the 1.2 liter UK model claims as much as 65.7 mpg highway, and 49.6 mpg city.


That's almost double the fuel economy of the American offering. And such higher fuel efficiency is not exclusive to the tiny car market - other larger sporty Fiat models achieve upwards of 50-60mpg on the highway.


And Fiat is not the only automaker producing very fuel efficient cars: Ford UK sells the 1.2 litre Ka which gets a combined 57mpg highway-city, and offers the 1.25 Litre UK Fiesta which achieves a combined 51 mpg. Meanwhile, the American Ford Fiesta brags about its gas mileage of 40 mpg on the highway.
http://www.ford.com/cars/fiesta/?intcmp=fv-hpbb-dflt-40mpg-fiesta


Though it may be that US estimates of fuel economy for the FIAT 500 and some other small American cars are lower than the actual possible fuel economy. Even my big Honda accord 4 door with a 2.2 litre engine can achieve 40 mpg on the highway.

But with gasoline prices at $3.50 to $4 per gallon, I would like to be able to purchase a Ford Ka or Fiesta with a smaller engine, by 2012 - not by 2017... All automakers have to do is offer a smaller engine option for some of their current models.


The Obama Admin did also announce new fuel economy standards for freight trucks and buses to begin in 2014.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/08/09/president-obama-announces-first-ever-fuel-economy-standards-commercial-vehicles


See my old 2007 article on the small-engine car offerings in UK and Europe http://dmfine.com/2007gas_guzzle.html