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The Plain Dealer
www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/
A nudge for fuel economy
Editorials
August 5, 2001
Americans love their sport utility vehicles and mini-vans.
And they would love them even more if they didn't hog gasoline
the way they hog the road.
But right now, there's little choice. You may be able to
fit the entire soccer team into your mini-van, but you can't
take it far on a tank of gas. That's because the fuel-economy
standard for light-duty trucks, which includes SUVs and
minivans, is set at 21 miles per gallon. That was established
in 1975, before SUVs took over the roads.
In contrast, the Corporate Average Fuel Economy or CAFE
standard for new passenger cars is 27.5 mpg. That must change
and the House made a step in that direction last week.
Though the House rejected a provision to mandate the same
standard for light trucks and cars, it did approve nudging
the standard for light trucks up to 24 mpg. The Senate should,
too.
That vote goes in tandem with a National Academy of Sciences
report that urged the government to increase the standard
for two reasons: to reduce carbon dioxide emissions linked
to global warming and to ease our nation's dependence on
foreign oil. The report, requested by Congress, also pointed
out that fuel economy can be achieved by other methods than
the current technique of making vehicles smaller and lighter,
a method that a majority of the NAS panel blamed for a higher
death toll on the road.
More efficient engines and power trains could help SUVs
and mini-vans meet stricter CAFE goals, although they would
be more expensive.
Questions about vehicle weight and the role it plays in
traffic deaths shouldn't be brushed aside. The report urged
that this issue be examined by the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration, and the agency should accept the
challenge.
The bill also includes $4 billion in tax breaks for buyers
of electric-fuel hybrid cars, which automakers say they
may offer as early as 2004.
In the meantime, it does no harm to tweak CAFE standards
for light trucks. Automakers should be working to design
SUVs and mini-vans that offer the security that drivers
like without the gas-guzzling habits that America can ill-afford.
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