I saw an article from the Detroit News by Keith Laing that contains for very good information on CAFE that could be used later for future articles. The article is called, “Feds Delay Decrease in mpg Fines after Trump Regulation Freeze”.
I will collect random notes, and this is not a free flowing article, only fact collecting.
PENALTIES for CAFE Infractions
The penalty for auto companies that fail to meet the higher emission standards for the designated vehicles(only new vehicles count towards CAFE calculations), was scheduled to increase from $5.50 to $14 for each one-tenth of a mile-per-gallon their average fuel economy falls short. That penalty would be multiplied by the total number of cars(volume) in the automakers’ fleets sold in that year.
The new CAFE standards, began to take effect in 2017, after an initial increase in requirements that ran from 2012-2016. Those rules called for the current fleet-wide average to be about 34 miles per gallon on average for both cars and trucks. By 2025, the goal is to be 54.5 miles per gallon. This to me seems way too high unless the government is banking that electric vehicles make up a significant increase in the automaker’s fleets.
For 2017, automakers are expected to average 35 miles per gallon for the 2017 models, and ramp up for their 2018 fleets to be 36 miles per gallon. In 2019, it goes up to 37, and hits 39 miles per gallon in 2020. By 2021, the automakers will be required to hit a combined average of 41 miles per gallon for cars and trucks.
THE CONFLICT
The rules for the model years between 2022 and 2025 were supposed to be subject to a congressional mandated review, to take place sometime in 2018. However, the Obama administration moved to finalize the EPA’s portion ahead of the inauguration. Probably the Department of Transportation has to have their piece negotiated.
Yes, I was right, if I keep on reading, “The Automakers have pushed Trump to roll back the requirements in later years OR address the inconsistencies between the EPA and the Dept of Transportation’s rules and concurrent greenhouse emission rule being enacted by the EPA. “
Traverse City Dividend 