Obama Raises Car Mileage to 35.5 MPG

Yesterday, President Obama announced a national program to raise car mileage to 35.5 mpg by 2016 from the current 25 mpg. The joint rule by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation will be phased in gradually starting with 2012 models.

The rule is projected to reduce oil consumption by five percent a year from 2011 to 2016. It will cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by over 900 million tons, equivalent to shutting down 194 coal power plants, during the same time period.

During April, the Obama administration officials met with domestic and foreign car manufacturers, law makers, and United Auto Workers representatives. Ten car makers signed on to the new mileage standard.

President Obama lauded the increase in gas mileage while standing side by side with Ford Chief Executive Alan Mullaly. “This gathering is all the more extraordinary for what these diverse groups — despite disparate interests and previous disagreements — have worked together to achieve,” Obama said. “For the first time in history, we have set in motion a national policy aimed at both increasing gas mileage and decreasing greenhouse gas pollution for all new trucks and cars.”

“The status quo is no longer acceptable,” he added. “We have done little to increase fuel efficiency of America’s cars and trucks for decades.”

Mullaly told reporters, “The president is going to continue to work toward an integrated energy policy in the United States, and the consumer is going to be involved. We’re all going to move forward, I believe, on this journey to energy independence, energy security and long-term stability.”

Obama administration officials also lauded the national program. Carol M. Browner, assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, called it, “an incredible step forward for our country.” Lisa Jackson, EPA administrator, said, “A supposedly unsolvable problem was solved by unprecedented partnerships.” Ray LaHood, Transportation Secretary called it “the biggest leap in history to make automobiles more fuel efficient.”

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger praised the program. “This sets the stage for building a new generation of cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles here… The final standards will be stringent, but will have support throughout industry, government and the environmental community.”

Dave McCurdy, president of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers pointed out that during the Bush years there was a “debate over whether states or the federal government should regulate autos.” He added, “President Obama’s announcement ends that old debate by starting a federal rulemaking to set a national program.”

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Nuraini A.

4:44AM PDT on Jun 4, 2009

pfft! my petrol car already gets that, and we don't even have the efficient diesel models available in our market or any kind of hybrid, even if the people wanted to/could buy them. but i guess, baby steps.

send a green star

4:41AM PDT on Jun 4, 2009

:D chris b's comment at 11.54 reminded me of a t-shirt i saw in south island new zealand, where it said one of the criteria of a south island man is that his brain is in puzzlement over why aucklanders need a 4x4 to drive up the streets in the heart of the city.

Jay L.

5:06AM PDT on May 29, 2009

There are a lot of good thoughts, arguments and sentiments here. We can all do better and help save fuel by planning trips better, making sure vehicles are maintained properly, our driving habits are more economy minded. The arguments against better fuel economies are typically very short-sighted and selfish. The typical "I'm an American so I can do whatever I want" attitude. A few things seem to have been skipped over here though. First, Americans are their own worst enemies. No one has forced them to use huge land yachts that get 10 mpg 30+ years after the LAST fuel crisis. We can only blame ourselves. Now, a lot of this is due to the fact that the automakers have fought very hard to manipulate legislation to keep making these huge, gas guzzling highly profitable vehicles, and as consumers we were stupid to not demand more from them. The only reason why it is happening now is because now that the automakers HAVE to beg for taxpayer dollars to keep operating because of their asinine "profit only" driven business models, someone is finally able to hold them accountable for the stupidity of such short sighted business practices. 35mpg sounds sad after 30+ years of technology has passed since the oil embargoes of the 70's, but it's completely obvious that EVEN NOW it wouldn't be happening if the big 3 weren't losing billions of dollars every month. There simply was no one holding them accountable. Perhaps now we can all see what needs to be done, and we can rectify that.

chris b.

11:54AM PDT on May 25, 2009

Sandy does not want to be preached at as I guess none of us do but for all the legitimate users of large vehicles there are far too many 4x4s clogging up flat towns and so shiny they could have just come out of the showroom unlike the vehicles that most farmers drive which do tend to be a bit mud and dust spattered. Visit London and you'll soon see what I mean which is why we Brits call 4x4s "Chelsea Tractors" and you don't see many farmers in Chelsea possibly quite a few cows and many sheep but that's another story.Cars are like everything else too many are simply used for short journeys in the UK that it is hardly worth starting the engine for let alone searching for a parking space so even if you feel you have to drive a 4x4 you can still keep that right boot light on the gas pedal! But of course living in a tiny island we do tend to forget the wide open spaces of places like America, Russia, Australia, South Africa etc where of course some resort to their own aircraft to get around their farms like my South African cousins.It's all a matter of your own choice but does not mean you have to squander the earth's meagre resources just to run a big flash motor. Most people have got the message by that if we don't do anything there will be not a lot left for future generations with or without global warming!So to to borrow the Brit anti booze campaign Don't Drink (too much gas) and Drive. Switch it of when you don't need it, keep it serviced, unload extra weight, check tires!

11:30AM PDT on May 25, 2009

How right Susan D is. If my ancient Ford Fiesta goes below 45 MPG then I know its service time! on a run it returns over 50MPG Driving style has a lot to do with it but I was a prep mechanic at one time for the Mobil economy run and that taught a few things about eco driving. Although I guess stripping the motor and polishing the internals at 500 miles, polishing wheel bearings, shining the bodywork daily and that sort of stuff is it ott for the average driver. When my brother visited Canada a few years ago and hired a gas guzzling V8 beast the rental garage were really surprised he got 30 mpg from it and recently he has been getting 9mpg from a Mercedes 44ton truck that others can only get 7mpg from. When I drove trucks my best performance was 22mpg from a wagon that most got 14mpg from. I did the same when driving buses 33mpg from a large minibus that usually only did 26mpg and big buses with 12 or 9 litre engines I could get 11 or 14MPG when others got 8 to 11MPG It's in the family because my father used to get a higher mileage out of a Morris 5cwt van with a side valve petrol engine in the fifties, when he was a telephone engineer, over 30mpg when the norm was 26mpg. The point being it does not matter what you drive you can usually drive it more economically. Why not switch of the air con when you don't really need it and cut the engine at traffic stops like roadworks, don't leave your truck/bus idling in the depot. None of this is rocket science! These savings are free!

Edward W.

6:05AM PDT on May 25, 2009

why wait this is something that should have been done years ago any how i don't think we need say anymore on this topic

Janis T.

6:09AM PDT on May 22, 2009

Shame on you Obama, 35.5 by 2016 is quite pathetic. This planet can't wait that long, and all cars should be getting at least 45 miles per gallon minimum right now. We do have the technology and companies right now who can make cars with a much higher millage than that. So they need backing, and all other car manufacturers must stop wasting time and switch to making non gas cars. Hybrids are great but we can do much better than that now, so why aren't we?

This isn't a game or revelry between companies. This has to be every car manufacturer switching their assembly lines to green cars within the next five years. Solar and electric cars and buses, using energy from solar and wind energy producing companies, not from coal. Non fossil fuel propelled cars using plant of plant waste materials. This can be done now, we have had the capability for years, so why is America going so slowly?

Timothy K.

7:39PM PDT on May 21, 2009

President Obama has a good idea BUT THE YEAR 2016- the technology has been here for years in labs and universities engineering programmes. You can be certain that the big three GM, FORD, CRYSLER SHALL NOT HAVE ANYTHING BETTER IN ANY TIME!! Their products have been crappy from the start- I say the product not the employees but the Japanese, the Chinese, East Indian, South Korea etc. are so far ahead of the bag three that it would cost literally BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO KEEP THESE OUT OF TOUCH CARMAKERS GOING UNTIL 2016. I don't want to bail them out as the governments in America and Canada are doing to an inferior product.

Why are people DEMANDING THAT THE BIG 3 DECLARE BANKUPTCY AND BEGIN AGAIN? As many American and Canadian taxpayers saying WHY SHOULD TAXPAYERS INVEST IN COMPANIES THAT WILL NEVER MAKE A RETURN ON OUR INVESTMENTS AS THEY ARE A VERY POOR CHOICE OF INVESTMENT LIKE THE STOCK MARKET AND MANY, MANY BANKS WHILE THEIR CEOS WALK AWAY WITH MILLIONS

WHY DOES THE TAXPAYER AND THE LITTLE CORNER FAMILY RUN BUSINESS HAVE TO DECLARE BANKRUPTCY AND THE BIG CORPORATIONS GET OFF SCOTT FREE?? This is NOT AMERICAN CAPITALISM!! Sincerely Timothy and R. Carin Kritsch

Beth C.

6:39PM PDT on May 21, 2009

Sandy
Actually some of the SUV hybrids like the Escape, Mariner and Mazda have pretty good gas mileage (32 mpg) which I will believe will continue to get better. There are incentives to buy these cars. VW makes a TDI Jetta clean diesel that may be larger than some small cars and gets 38/44. The American car companies have been able to do this for a good while they just did not want to, they did not care about gas consumption, global warming or the consumer. We will all have to sacrifice because we all have contributed in global warming.