35 MPG by 2020?

[TromboneAl]

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Tuesday approved a bill that would raise the passenger fleet automotive fuel standard to an average 35 miles per gallon by 2020.

This strikes me as pathetic. Thirteen years to make the average new car (not truck) get 35 MPG? I sure hope we have a little more ingenuity than that.

 

[calmloki]

Wow! Pretty good. My 1985? Chevy Sprint did 50mpg overall in decent tune, 40mpg in absolute neglect mode. That's overall, not downhill hiway. No AC as i recall, manual windows, no airbags, not a chick magnet. But for 10 years the IRS bought the car for me plus all gas etc. every single year on the mileage allowance. The girl saw a # of them at the dealership that had been rolled and they held up surprisingly well. Head on into a concrete barrier like the Mercedes Smart car video i suspect would result in further savings, as you would just bury the driver in the resulting ball of tinfoil.

 

[laurence]

There are a ton of cars getting 20 or less right now, the best get 40 (not including hybrids) so realistically the lowest mpg a car that gets any real mass production could achieve would be 30 without some technical breakthroughs or even less likely, consumers giving up some performance. IMHO the new clean deisel is the way to go, the Mercedes Benz E-Class Bluetec deisel gets close to 40 mpg and has 97% less emmissions than regular deisel, and it has 400 foot pounds of torque! Plus mass production deisel gives biodeisel a base to build from, and why not pair a hybrid electric with a clean deisel engine?

But yes, it's depressing to think that according to the article this probably doesn't stand a shot of passing since all the major manufacturers are against it. I think the bar was set so low so there was a chance something could get passed.

 

[Mwsinron]

35 seems pretty weak to me. Then again I dont really know much of the ins and outs of fuel economy to really judge.

 

[dumpster56]

35 seems pretty weak to me. Then again I dont really know much of the ins and outs of fuel economy to really judge.

My 4 cyl camry gets 35 on the highway NOW!!!

These are dumb bums in washington elected by more dummies!

 

[Mwsinron]

My 4 cyl camry gets 35 on the highway NOW!!!

These are dumb bums in washington elected by more dummies!

What happens when oil companies and auto makers line the pockets

 

[jazz4cash]

No technological breakthroughs necessary.........only need the buying public to put thier money where thier mouth is. People say they want good fuel economy, yet they choose performance over economy every time. I don't believe there is a single model of car that has 4cyl and 6 cyl versions available where the 4 cyl outsells the 6cyl. Since the CAFE is a fleet average, the automakers will push x number of models above the standard at breakeven just to sell y number of models below the standard that actually make some money. The first round of cafe pushed all automakers to make everything unibody front wheel drive and consumers responded by buying body on frame trucks otherwise known as SUVs.