CAFE, EPA Math: 35 Equals 26
May 21, 2009
By Michelle Krebs
One fully expected those gathered Wednesday in the White House rose garden -- environmentalists, captains of the global auto industry and government officials -- to break out into a rousing chorus of Kumbaya.
Everybody, including dueling parties normally at odds, expressed their delight with President Obama's announcement of the more stringent and earlier-than-planned fuel-economy and emissions standards that would be applied from sea to shining sea.
However, as in all things involving politics, the new fuel-economy standards aren't what they seem.
"Turns out that there are loopholes almost big enough to drive an SUV through," quipped Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl.
It starts with the math -- two different mathematical formulas used by two agencies of the U.S. government.
One mathematical calculation is used for mileage ratings under Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) rules. Quite another is used by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to figure the fuel economy ratings on window stickers for new cars.
"CAFE miles per gallon ratings and EPA window sticker mpg ratings were originally generated simultaneously through government lab testing," said Edmunds.com Director of Vehicle Testing Dan Edmunds. "Window sticker ratings have been down-rated twice in the last 25 years to make them more realistic for consumers, while CAFE mpg methods remained the same. So, with each EPA revision, EPA window sticker mpg and CAFE mpg drifted further apart."
Indeed, the difference between the two is significant -- big enough to drive an SUV through in some cases.
For example, a vehicle that scores an EPA rating combined city/highway of 29 miles per gallon actually contributes 39 mpg to its manufacturer's CAFE average.
The new 35.5 mpg by 2016 standard announced by President Obama translates to about 26 miles per gallon. While that lower number may be disappointing environmentalists, it explains why automakers, including the Detroit-based ones, so gleefully signed on -- it's far less Draconian than one might think on first blush.
In fact, according to Edmunds.com's analysis, 29 car models and 36 truck models already achieve the new standard, and about a third of the cars and half of the trucks are produced by a domestic automaker. A full list of those models is available at Edmunds.com's GreenCarAdvisor.com.
Edmunds' GreenCarAdvisor.com Editor John O'Dell originally reported on this discrepancy in December 2007, in an article entitled "Fuel Economy: Doublespeak at its Best." In that piece, O'Dell wrote, "Most people have been trained to think only of the EPA numbers when talk turns to fuel economy, and they aren't aware of the differences between the EPA and CAFE figures. That makes the standard a little misleading."
And with the legislation not even written to boost fuel-economy ratings along with reduce emissions, more loopholes undoubtedly will find their way into the final law.
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:51 AM under Analysis , Companies , Featured | Comments (4) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
This is hilarious. No one in the MSM even mentioned this ONCE.
Posted by: 1487 | May 21, 2009 at 1:24 PM
Yep, so as it turns out, it's all just a governmental slight of hand.
This just re-iterates my belief that CAFE is just a bunch of useless political crap.
Posted by: 08_miata | May 21, 2009 at 2:28 PM
Quick question - isn't there a special calculation for flex-fuel vehicles? Would all they have to do is increase the models available and sold that are flex-fuel to artificially raise their CAFE numbers?
No wonder they didn't squeal, even if two of them are over the barrel anyway and couldn't say no even if they wanted to.
Posted by: jeffweimer | May 21, 2009 at 6:19 PM
Edmunds keeps trying to manufacture controversy where none should exist. CAFE numbers are set by regulation which is authorized by statute. Without amending that statute, the testing method cannot be changed, otherwise you're effectively setting a much higher required mileage. Manufacturers should not be penalized for the bad driving habits of the general population; unfortunately, the political structure of the country demands that the burden of change be placed on the manufacturers, because God forbid the citizens be asked to make a sacrifice and modify their behavior.
The only reason EPA sticker mileage differs from the CAFE tests is that 2 generations of morons who think they should be able to achieve the sticker mileage no matter how differently they drive from the test conditions have complained to their elected representatives, and the representatives responded in the typical fashion--they accommodate the complainers without regard to the reasonableness of the complaints.
Posted by: bc1960 | May 21, 2009 at 11:03 PM