Corporate average fuel economy: What society really need
Bohao Wu The average gas mileage of new cars and trucks will have to nearly double by 2025 under regulations finalized by the Obama administration. The new rules will require car companies to average 54.5 mpg across their fleets in 13 years, which stayed at 27.5 mpg for 21years before it increased slightly a year ago. Because few vehicles come close to that level of performance today, the new rule sounds overly ambitious or even impossible at the first blush. Once you dig a little deeper, the rules will make sense for various kinds of reasons. From my perspective, the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) benefits the society. The fuel regulations should be enacted. First, the new rule will help the United States deal with the climate changes. Gasoline is one of the main parts of fossil fuel that produces carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is also part of greenhouse gases, which will influence the environment of the earth deeply. The CAFE requires vehicles to promote average gas mileage; tailpipe emissions from cars and light trucks will be halved by 2025. Second, raising the efficiency of U.S. vehicles will enhance national security. President Barack Obama said the new fuel standards "represent the single most important step" his administration has taken to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Despite rising domestic crude production, 40% of our nation’s oil is imported from foreign countries. The foreign oil ties America to a volatile world market, including producers that are hostile to the U.S. like Russia, Iran, and Venezuela. Promoting average gas mileage will reduce the gasoline use of U.S., which makes America freer about oil and enhancing the national security at the same time. Moreover, the changes will save families more than $1.7 trillion in fuel costs and bring an average savings of $8,000 over the lifetime of a new vehicle sold in 2025. Although the new fuel-saving technology will add a couple thousand dollars to the cost of a new car, consumers could save their money on the gasoline for more than $8,000. In the meantime, the costs of cars will downsize as the technology grows. The CAFE helps the American families live better by reducing the cost of gasoline, particularly the middle class family. They'll have more money to spend or travel, which will also improve the market. Fourth, CAFE will deeply influence the automakers and the car industry. The emissions standards in the 1970s also have been called ridiculous and it caused conflict with the car industry. Nowadays, none of the carmakers said the mileage plan is ridiculous. Changes are a must for every industry and the challenge is one of the most important forces for industry growth. Gasoline is limited in the world and non-renewable natural resource as well. Natural gas-powered vehicles, electric vehicles, and vehicles with alternative energy sources are the trend of car industry. Some Japanese car companies have already fit the changes, like Honda. Most American cars still hold low efficiency using oil. That makes a great gap between the car industries between two countries, which makes Japanese cars have higher sales volume than American cars. Promoting the average gas mileage is helps the American car industry. Otherwise, the American automaker and car industry will fall behind other counties of the world. Some of the automakers would say that technology has its limits. Mandating that car companies build vehicles with unproven, expensive technologies that may be out of step with consumers' needs is a risk not worth taking in a recovering economy. Instead, a 54.5mpg target is not as high as they might think. After complex calculations, the real-world standard reflected on the Environmental Protection Agency window sticker will be closer to 39 or 49 miles per gallon. The window sticker calculation is actually based on five different measurements, including hot and cold weather performance, high speed driving, the way the car does when the air conditioning is on, and other factors. Those tests were last updated in 2008. The broader number is based on two cycle tests, which measure performance in the city and on the highway. Those tests essentially haven’t changed since the CAFE measurement was established in 1975. The average new vehicle gets 23.8 mpg today. According to the University of Michigan, the new rules will improve mileage to about 45 mpg for the average car and 32 mpg for the average truck. In conclusion, the corporate average fuel economy is not only about increasing average gas mileage; it's more about helping the society to grow and brings benefits to all of us. But the CAFE is not the only way for government to solve the gasoline problem. The government should increase the taxes of both gasoline and cars with high oil consumption and decrease the tax of environmentally friendly cars at the same time. This way, the government can encourage consumers to buy more fuel-efficient cars. There is a well-known proverb in China, “Consider the past, and you shall know the future." The 1970s emission requirements made the car industry develop and save the environment at the same time. This time the fuel regulation works. The market failure will harm the society, but helping society is the government’s job.
Sources have been referenced:
1. New Fuel Economy Standards Aren't as High as You Might Think (Micheline Maynard): http://www.forbes.com/sites/michelinemaynard/2012/08/28/new-fuel-economy-standards-arent-as-high-as-you-might-think/
2. Wikipedia _ Corporate average fuel: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_average_fuel_economy
3. 54.5 mpg? An illusion that's worth pursuing: Today's debate: Gas mileage
4. Technology has its limits: Today's debate: Gas mileage