(Photo: (cc) by Flickr user emilio labrador)
President Obama has suggested requiring all cars and light trucks to run at 56.2 miles per gallon by 2025. Our partner The Takeaway, wanted to find out if this is feasible.
Listen. The conversation starts at 1:45 after a few calls from listeners about alternative fuels.
Seth Fletcher, thinks it’s an achievable goal. He is the senior editor at Popular Science and author of, “Bottled Lightning: Superbatteries, Electric Cars, and the New Lithium Economy.”
Sean McAlinden, executive vice-president for research and chief economist for the Center for Automotive Research, on the other hand, believes that this goal is just too ambitious, and too high a bar to set for many car companies.
The blogosphere has been all abuzz with talk of the CAR report, but I think it’s important to note that the study was riddled with flaws. (See this breakdown by the International Council on Clean Transportation: http://www.theicct.org/info/documents/ICCT_CAR_June11_comments.pdf).
Plus, hardly anyone seems to mention that CAFE mpg is not the same as the EPA window sticker mpg most people are familiar with. The current model year Prius, rated at 50 EPA mpg combined, corresponds to 71 mpg CAFE.
That’s part of the reason why companies like Toyota and Hyundai appear relatively calm, even when faced with the prospect of a 62 mpg CAFE standard.
My cars were originally rated at 58 mpg by the EPA…they are now over 20 years old.
With the new alcohol laced fuel they get aproximately 53 mpg in ordinary driving.
A 2 door and a 4 door hatchback, they are well built, inexpensive to repair and seemingly will run forever.
They are Geo Metro;s with a 3 cyl. Suzuki engine that is rather behind the times.
These cars, with a modern engine, will easily be capable of 75 mpg. Where are they Detroit?…you have had 20 years to catch up and now Obama is forcing you to do the right thing. It can be done and it can be done with all the safety technology required.
When the speed and power hungry have no other choices, a little sanity will re-appear on America’s highways, fashion will not be dictated by automobiles and the one person uisage might be economically feasible. In the meantime I am enjoying very low operating costs.