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Do you think this can be realistically achieved? Will automakers simply have to eliminate larger cars from their fleets?
It's only a little over 11 years away.
Look how MPG has changed in the last ten years. I don't think its unrealistic. There really are no "larger" cars to eliminate from most automaker's lineups. Full size pickups and SUVs are the main gas guzzlers now.
Do you think this can be realistically achieved? Will automakers simply have to eliminate larger cars from their fleets?
It's only a little over 11 years away.
It's a blatant push for electric cars, which basically limit mobility to within 100 miles of your home. After that you would need to use mass transit. Another great government plan.
It's doable. While cars do have more equipment than they used to, we are also seeing a big push towards a greater use of aluminum in making cars. The Porsche Cayenne for example, the latest model is 500 lbs less than the previous gen because of extensive use of aluminum. Combine that with a hybrid or electric engine, and most small/midsize cars are within striking distance of 50+mpg.
Those standards btw, are for the average of a car makers line up. Not all vehicles will need to be that efficient.
If you could make cars as light as the Metro and CRX then with today's tech you could exceed that MPG. Problem is to do so would violate the crash safety regulations. On the comfort side, it would eliminate the sound proofing we've come to take for granted. Strip down a modern car of all it's airbags, power seats, power windows, sound proofing materials and you'd still not make a dent in it's total weight. Another factor is tire width. Wide tires help with handling and braking. But they also hurt fuel economy. Go narrow and you increase fuel economy but sacrifice handling, stopping distance, and ride comfort. Take an original Ford Festiva, rip out it's engine and transmission, install a modern DOHC DI VVT engine with CVT transmission and you could probably exceed the goal mpg.
I don't think it is realistic to have both the CAFE standard of 50 mpgs AND comply with the saftey requirements. Cars are bigger because of safety reasons and making cars smaller is the most practical way to achieve high mileage, like the CRX.
And putting your car in neutral down hills helps too. I just can't resist not doing this in my manual car.
Actually, the eventual average CAFE requirement after certain vehicles are extempted, eincluding all of GMs and Ford's very profitable pickups comes out to around 40 MPG and numerous automobile-focused publications have reported; that 54.5 MPG figure was merely a 'headline-grabbing' number.
The problem is that Americans have been voting with their wallets regarding hybrids and other alternative energy cars for well over a decade, much to the chagrin of Obama, Al Gore, Jerry Brown, and last but not least Tom and Chuck (Harkin & Grassley, aka 'The Godfathers of Ethanol'), that we don't really want them.
All you need to know is that the market share of such vehicles has been stuck around 3% for upwards of two decades.
Most of them remain overpriced to this date.
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