60 MPG Advocates Launch Campaign For Huge Boost in CAFE Standard

60 MPG Advocates Launch Campaign For Huge Boost in CAFE Standard

But Big Regulatory Number Equates to Just 43 MPG on an EPA Fuel Economy Sticker

Proponents of a 60 mpg federal CAFE standard launched their lobbying campaign today with the debut of a new Website promoting the idea and a vow to hit the media with an advertiisng and informartion campaign.

One bit of information that we'd like to share is a reminder that 60 mpg on the CAFE, or Corporate Average Fuel Economy, scale is not the same as a 60 mpg rating on the window sticker of a new car.

In fact, the government uses two very different sets of parameters in computing CAFE and the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, ratings that consumers see. A 60 mpg CAFE is a regulatory measuremennt and equates to just 43 mpg on the consumer-oriented window sticker.

Both numbers do represent a big hike from where we are now - present rules require the auto industry to hit a fleetwide average of 35 mpg by 2016, a number that equates to a 27 mpg EPA rating.

The new campaign, backed by a loose coalition of 19 consumer and environmental groups, aims at influencing the Department of Transportation and EPA to set 60 miles per gallon as next CAFE target for when the issue the proposed standards at the end of the month for the 2016-2025 period.

That would require a 71 percent increase in the fleet average fuel economy and a 59 percent hike in the EPA window sticker fuel efrficiency average.  

We told you about the plan last week and opined that it might be smarter to urge the government to impose a fuel price floor that would make people demand more fuel-efficient vehicles than to demand that automakers be required to hit predetermined fuel economy levels whether people want the cars or not.

History has shown that small, fuel efficient vehicles are simply not in demand in this country until gas prices top $3.50 a gallon.  We wish it were different, but you know what they say about wishes.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

John O'Dell:  is an AutoObserver Senior Editor. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.