The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations in the United States, first enacted by Congress in 1975, are federal regulations intended to improve the average fuel economy of cars and light trucks (trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles) sold in the US in the wake of the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo. (From Wikipedia)
The new standards enacted recently have been written about by many magazines and bloggers. Most of the articles I have seen have talked about how unrealistic the standards are. They say there is no way to have a fun to drive car that gets 35+ MPG by the year 2016. I disagree. I have a 79 Triumph Spitfire that is 76 HP of fun. It gets great gas mileage (when it runs) and is very exciting to drive. I think most critics would agree that the Mini Cooper S is a fun, sporty car that gets great gas mileage. I also have a 2008 Nissan Versa that gets about 33MPG and drives like a go cart. I believe small cars that get high gas mileage are not only possible, but have been possible for years.
The trend of large gas guzzling SUV's by car makers is fading. I know that there are people that will still want large vehicles regardless of the MPG. But things have to change. In the early 70's car makers changed to make cars that were better on gas. Sure there were some real duds, (underpowered Corvettes come to mind) but like my little Triumph, VW Bugs and a host of other cars, many people drove smaller cars and the compact car market took off.
The other argument I have heard is that these smaller underpowered cars will be dangerous. Most of the small cars currently on the market meet older safety standards. They are safe in crashes and have multiple airbags. The older small cars were less safe but made of steel in most cases. The newer cars are engineered to be safer and have safety devices to help reduce injuries. Other than some inferior Chinese cars I think most small cars will be just as safe as their larger counterparts.
I think that the government finally has the power over the automakers and unions to be able to implement standards that should have been signed into law several years ago. Carpe Diem! Let's make small fuel efficient cars that are fun and sensible. Europe and Asia has been doing this for years. It's about time we follow suit.
S
