Because the US Auto Industry is Still Showing Signs of Life (Wizbang)

US Department of Transportation has issued new and tougher MPG standards:

The U.S. Department of Transportation has ordered automakers to increase fuel mileage in cars and light trucks to an average of 27.3 mpg by 2011.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said changes to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards, or CAFE standards, are important steps to achieving energy independence and bringing more fuel-efficient vehicles to market.

Plans for further increases from model year 2011 to 2020 are well under way, LaHood announced Friday, March 27. The Federal Register published the final rule on Monday, March 30.

President Barack Obama directed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to divide a previous rulemaking into two parts - one to establish the 2011 standard and one for standards leading up to 2020 - based on work that began during the Bush administration.

The move is the first change to the CAFE standards since 1985. The standards were put in place in the late 1970s to reduce fuel consumption.

Kate at Small Dead Animals: It's as though they're doing it on purpose.

Comments (5)

Kate is not far off.<... (Below threshold)

1. Posted by John | April 1, 2009 8:54 AM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

John:

Kate is not far off.

Congress Passes Land Grab

Couple that with the cancelled oil leases, installment of governement appointees into GM, and you have a model of how Obama and his lemmings are going to DICTATE what car you WILL drive.

Let's not forget Obama's Transportation Secretary called for raising gas taxes and then called for taxing every mile you drive.

It's not hard to see that Obama and his lemmings will use this opportunity to push their eco-cars on us.

Posted on April 1, 2009 08:54

Let's see. They're blockin... (Below threshold)

2. Posted by JLawson | April 1, 2009 9:45 AM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

JLawson:

Let's see. They're blocking solar, nuclear, oil, wind, and they're going to tax the hell out of coal.

I'm all for a comprehensive energy strategy, but shouldn't that strategy be to get MORE energy instead of cutting off all possible sources?

Posted on April 1, 2009 09:45

The Obama administration ha... (Below threshold)

3. Posted by Mac Lorry | April 1, 2009 11:27 AM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

Mac Lorry:

The Obama administration has hijacked support for energy independence in an effort to shove the environmentalists' agenda down the throats of Americans. A real drive for energy independence involves more domestic drilling, more nuclear power plants, more use of coal, as well as more wind and solar. The fact that the Obama administration is hostile to domestic drilling, nuclear power and coal demonstrates they are really following the agenda of the "green" religion. That agenda puts America on an economic par with the third world.

Posted on April 1, 2009 11:27

This is the rollout of a st... (Below threshold)

4. Posted by jpm100 | April 1, 2009 11:08 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

jpm100:

This is the rollout of a standard that was implemented over a year ago and accelerated about 6 months or so ago.

This is just the first increment of a far stricter standard. The end standard will be 35 combined which roughly means some combination like 45 for cars and 25 for trucks.

The government doesn't need to control the GM Board to make it produce econoboxes and hybrids. That was already accomplished over a year ago under Bush and the Democrats in Congress through MPG regulations.

Posted on April 1, 2009 23:08

What it is called when gove... (Below threshold)

5. Posted by Zelsdorf Ragshaft III | April 2, 2009 8:40 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Zelsdorf Ragshaft III:

What it is called when government dictates what the public can buy? It was never the intention of the founders to tell horse breeders to breed horses that got by on less oats and it is not the job of this government to tell automakers how much gas milage its products should get. That should be a function of the market. If we do not enforce the constitution, we will lose all of our freedoms. It is time to stand down these would be tyrants.

Posted on April 2, 2009 08:40