U.S. mileage standards to rise for first time

[one...two...tree 2,762]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Friday imposed the first increase in mileage standards for passenger cars and boosted the floor for sport utilities and pickups beginning with model year 2011 vehicles.

The regulation is an abbreviated version of the initiative launched by Congress and the Bush administration in 2007 to reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil and cut tailpipe emissions.

It also comes amid deep uncertainty about the future of domestic auto manufacturers General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler LLC.

The Detroit-Three profited for years from larger and less efficient vehicles but now face the double wallop of a market downturn fueled by recession and a consumer shift away from their bread-and-butter products.

A copy of the standard obtained by Reuters would require compacts, sedans and other passenger cars to average 30.2 miles per gallon, up from the 27.5 mpg standard that was established in the late 1970s.

Light trucks, which include pickups and SUVs, would have to average 24.1 mpg.

The new targets would save nearly 900 million gallons of fuel and cost the industry $1.4 billion, according to the regulation.

Congress has required the U.S. fleet of cars and light trucks to average 35 mpg by 2020, a 40 percent increase over today's performance.

The Bush administration sought to establish annual goals between 2011-2015, but the Obama administration cut that back to one-year, 2011, while it assess the future of GM, Ford and Chrysler and contemplates a new method for calculating mileage efficiency.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=us-mil...-standards-to-r

[dalegg 143]

The new targets would save nearly 900 million gallons of fuel and cost the industry $1.4 billion, according to the regulation.

There it is- now you know when the next hike in Gas taxes will be!

[one...two...tree 2,762]

The new targets would save nearly 900 million gallons of fuel and cost the industry $1.4 billion, according to the regulation.

There it is- now you know when the next hike in Gas taxes will be!

What - 3 cents on the gallon?

[peejay 327]

Gee...2 out of the three vehicles I own already exceed the new standards. My old 1997 Jeep Cherokee SE we keep as a spare car because at 195,000 miles the trade in value wasn't worth parting with it. We drive it occassionally just to keep the battery charged. The other 2 we drive daily meet the new standards already.

Edited March 30, 2009 by peejay

[alienlovechild 75]

The Detroit-Three profited for years from larger and less efficient vehicles but now face the double wallop of a market downturn fueled by recession and a consumer shift away from their bread-and-butter products.

The CAFE standards make sense but the American people consistently rejected more fuel efficient cars. Obama is kicking Detroit but wants to bailout the industry with strings attached. My guess is that at least one of the big three goes bankrupt and later completely goes defunct.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

The Detroit-Three profited for years from larger and less efficient vehicles but now face the double wallop of a market downturn fueled by recession and a consumer shift away from their bread-and-butter products.

The CAFE standards make sense but the American people consistently rejected more fuel efficient cars. Obama is kicking Detroit but wants to bailout the industry with strings attached. My guess is that at least one of the big three goes bankrupt and later completely goes defunct.

Ahem...

Fed Tax Break Encourages SUV Purchases

Tax Breaks Help Small Business Buy Big SUVs, But Help for Hybrids May Vanish

By AMANDA ONION

Oct. 1, 2003 (notice the date here)

....

Congress recently passed a tax bill, as proposed in President Bush's economic stimulus plan, that offers a $100,000 tax credit for business owners who purchase any vehicle weighing 6,000 pounds or more when fully loaded.

.....

That tax credit a huge impact on consumer demand, which Detroit responded to.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Hybrid/St...7505&page=1

[The_Dude 1,142]

I wouldn't buy an American Car made post-1972 anyways, they are all pieces of $hit, regardless of what fuel efficiency they get.

[SuperDuper! 230]

GM = Government Motors

[alienlovechild 75]

By AMANDA ONION

Oct. 1, 2003 (notice the date here)

....

Congress recently passed a tax bill, as proposed in President Bush's economic stimulus plan, that offers a $100,000 tax credit for business owners who purchase any vehicle weighing 6,000 pounds or more when fully loaded.

.....

That tax credit a huge impact on consumer demand, which Detroit responded to.

That didn't help but SUV sales took a major part of the market in the 1990s long before any tax breaks.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Here's some interesting analysis:

In light of the automaker benefits and car buyer assistance in the recently-passed stimulus package, analysts at R. L. Polk & Co. estimate there will be an average rebate of $330 for every vehicle sold this year. By allowing buyers to deduct the sales tax from a new vehicle purchase from their income taxes, Polks sees a sales increase of 94,000 units this year.

By contrast, the rebate provision in the original stimulus bill allowed buyers to deduct the interest on their car loans from their income taxes, in addition to the sales tax. Polk predicted the average rebate in that case would have been $1,250, and the U.S. light vehicle unit sales would increase by 359,000 units this year.

That would still only be a tiny bump in national volume when compared to Hyundai's gains due to its Hyundai Assurance Program: the Korean marque saw January sales rise by 14%, compared to a 37% drop suffered by the industry overall. And commenting on Germany's €2,500 rebate for people buying new cars, Polk figured the country could see 200,000 more cars sold this year, with smaller cars taking up much of that volume.

[source: Polk]

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/17/polk-sp...es-on-2009-ca/2

...

If I were going to buy a new car this year, I'd probably go for the Hyundai Elantra or Sonata. Too good of deal to pass up.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

The Detroit-Three profited for years from larger and less efficient vehicles but now face the double wallop of a market downturn fueled by recession and a consumer shift away from their bread-and-butter products.

The CAFE standards make sense but the American people consistently rejected more fuel efficient cars. Obama is kicking Detroit but wants to bailout the industry with strings attached. My guess is that at least one of the big three goes bankrupt and later completely goes defunct.

Ahem...

Fed Tax Break Encourages SUV Purchases

Tax Breaks Help Small Business Buy Big SUVs, But Help for Hybrids May Vanish

By AMANDA ONION

Oct. 1, 2003 (notice the date here)

....

Congress recently passed a tax bill, as proposed in President Bush's economic stimulus plan, that offers a $100,000 tax credit for business owners who purchase any vehicle weighing 6,000 pounds or more when fully loaded.

.....

That tax credit a huge impact on consumer demand, which Detroit responded to.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Hybrid/St...7505&page=1

It's a little misleading. Anything over 6000# is no longer a light duty truck. That definition would include most commercial trucks.

Edited March 30, 2009 by Mister_Bill

[peejay 327]

I wouldn't buy an American Car made post-1972 anyways, they are all pieces of $hit, regardless of what fuel efficiency they get.

My first car was a 1963 Chevy Impala. Easy to work on and parts were dirt cheap. Cars back then crapped out at around 110,000 to 140,000 miles (most at 110,000 miles or less). Also back then the maintenance schedule was really short. Anybody out there in VJ land remember points under the distributor cap?

I grew up on GM, Ford, and Chrysler products, but migrated to the Japs in 2004. I did have a 1990 Ford Ranger pickup I bought new that was a swell vehicle. Fun to drive and never gave me a lick of trouble. I sold it to a friend at 160,000 miles and he is still driving it at 240,000 miles today.

New cars are much better, hands down. Foreign and domestic models.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

It's a little misleading. Anything over 6000# is no longer a light duty truck. That definition would include most commercial trucks.

That's why GM and other auto makers went ape crazy with those behemoth SUV's. Do you know which SUV's fall under that category?

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

It's a little misleading. Anything over 6000# is no longer a light duty truck. That definition would include most commercial trucks.

That's why GM and other auto makers went ape crazy with those behemoth SUV's. Do you know which SUV's fall under that category?

Probably Escalades and whatever other bohemoths fall in that category. GM has been the company building the lion share of motorhome chassis and bus chassis for decades. With that market share, you would think they would have profited by that act.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

It's a little misleading. Anything over 6000# is no longer a light duty truck. That definition would include most commercial trucks.

That's why GM and other auto makers went ape crazy with those behemoth SUV's. Do you know which SUV's fall under that category?

Probably Escalades and whatever other bohemoths fall in that category. GM has been the company building the lion share of motorhome chassis and bus chassis for decades. With that market share, you would think they would have profited by that act.

Here's a list of 38 eligible vehicles over 6000 pounds:

BMW X5

Cadillac Escalade

Chevy Astro

Chevy Avalanche

Chevy Express

Chevy Silverado

Chevy Suburban

Chevy Tahoe

Dodge Durango

Dodge Ram Van

Dodge Ram Maxi Van

Dodge Ram Wagon

Dodge Ram 1500

Dodge Ram 2500

Dodge Ram 3500

Ford Excursion

Ford Expedition

Ford Econoline E-150

Ford Econoline E-250

Ford Econoline E-350

Ford F-150

Ford F-250

Ford F-350

GMC Yukon

GMC Safari

GMC Savana

GMC Sierra

GMC Sierra Denali

Land Rover Discovery

Land Rover Range Rover

Lincoln Blackwood

Lincoln Navigator

Mercedes ML 320

Mercedes ML 500

Mercedes ML55 AMG

Toyota Land Cruiser

Toyota Sequoia

Toyota Tundra

http://forums.macrumors.com/archive/index.php/t-23277.html