MI Congressional Delegation: 56.2 MPG CAFE Proposal "Not Feasible"
An anonymous tipster has sent us a copy of a letter from the Michigan congressional delegation to President Obama [ PDF here, or hit the jump for an embedded copy], which calls his proposal for a 56.2 MPG CAFE standard by 2025 “overly aggressive and not reasonably feasible.” The letter is remarkable in the sense that the major signatories are Democrats, and yet it attacks the President’s proposal with more vigor than many inside the industry. The letter also confirms that that the Detroit-based automakers already rely on CAFE’s “credit” loopholes in order to meet the 2012-2016 standard, a stunning admission of how far behind Detroit still lags in fleet fuel economy. And rather than taking responsibility for their situation, the MI representatives blame CAFE for Detroit’s low fleet efficiency, arguing that “manufacturers that produce primarily smaller vehicles will have an unfair advantage.” Moreover, the MI reps don’t just admit that Detroit is behind its competition, but even goes as far as to argue that “the overall targets currently proposed may exceed what is technologically achievable for the the US automakers that produce and sell the majority of the larger pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles that US families and businesses -and tens of thousands of autoworkers- depend on.”
In short, the letter strikes me as a shockingly old-school display of excuses and apologia that stands in sharp contrast to the “green car revival” narrative that Detroit and D.C. pushed so hard during the bailout. And frankly, I’d be embarrassed if I ran one of the largest automakers in the world and I was reduced to pleading my inability, on technological grounds no less, to achieve a 56.2 MPG fleet average (which in “window sticker” terms, translates to about 41 MPG EPA) within 15 years… even though CAFE is riddled with loopholes that make it easier to continue building thirsty trucks. If Detroit were actually leading the charge for a gas tax (or offering any kind of market-driven alternative), it might have some credibility on this issue, but as things stand this strikes me as nothing more than whining. So much for America’s “can-do” spirit…
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@Ed- I took a few minutes to search the fueleconomy.gov site for vehicles that achieve over 40MPG combined and found that there are just (7) cars listed, all either electric or hybrids: Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt(electricity only),Smart electric, Honda Civic Hybrid, Toyota Prius, Honda Insight and Lexus CT 200h. Volt is the only one that can accelerate to 60 in under 9.0 seconds. I wonder how you think the whole domestic fleet including light trucks can achieve an average of 41MPG given these current max economy examples, several of which (Civic, Insight & Lexus) just match that 41MPG average? This reality is why I mention the laws of physics standing in the way. The heaviest is Volt, about 3,781#. That is almost a ton lighter than an average full size pickup. Excluding the heavier EVs, the next heaviest to achieve 41MPG combined is the Lexus at 3,042#. You can not beat the laws of physics, and none of these cars is very large or capable of trailer towing. How would you expect to get there with a vehicle people really want to buy and can afford?
It probably really doesn't matter whether these CAFE standards are enacted or not . In 15 years when a gallon of gas is 8-10 dollars consumers will demand these high mpg vehicles anyway . And if Detroit can't build them someone else will .