The Bush administration has been under pressure to tighten vehicle gas mileage standards – and we were glad to see the Department of Transportation move to set requirements for the first time on most SUVs and pickup trucks.
But the new regulations make only a modest improvement, and they threaten to subvert California’s more reasonable effort.
The Department of Transportation’s plan would result in better fuel economy for large vehicles than any previous change in federal standards, says Secretary Norman Mineta. It would jettison the old regulatory system called “corporate average fuel economy” for the class of vehicles that includes SUVs, pickups and minivans. In its place, fuel economy would be figured for six categories, ranging from the smallest, such as Toyota’s RAV4, to big models like GM’s Silverado.
Mineta said the new standards would increase average mileage for the so-called light trucks from the current 21 miles per gallon to about 24 mpg for 2011 models. But that claim is only partly correct. Because the new standards divide light trucks into six categories, 47 percent of those sold in 2011 will be allowed to average 23.3 mpg or less. The largest quarter of these vehicles won’t have to get more than 21.7 mpg, or about what they get today. And land-going aircraft carriers like the Hummer needn’t meet any new fuel standards at all, a gap that led Forbes magazine’s online editors to label it “the gas-guzzler relief act.”
Mineta said the proposal could save about 10 billion gallons of gas, but that’s spread out over the 15-year life span of 35 million new SUVs, minivans and pickups expected to hit the road in that time period. And every year during that decade and a half, the U.S. likely will consume at least 140 billion gallons of gasoline and diesel, as it does now. Mineta’s touted savings would amount to a proverbial drop in the bucket.
The administration has opposed more ambitious attempts to improve fuel efficiency, so what led to these new regs? Cynics note that California’s campaign to address global warming applies to the light-truck category – and as a side benefit will improve vehicle gas mileage. If courts uphold the California rules, automakers would have to make SUVs and pickups far more fuel-efficient than under the Bush proposal. But if the Bush rules go into effect, they could trump California’s tough proposal. “A state law that seeks to reduce motor vehicle carbon dioxide emissions is both expressly and impliedly pre-empted,” the Bush plan says.
That’s a mischievous provision. The Bush proposal shouldn’t be taken as a done deal, but as the start of an overdue debate.
