http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/jalopnik.com.png http://jalopnik.com/tag/cafe http://jalopnik.com/tag/cafe

Chrysler decided to shoot 30 seconds of video showing a 300C sedan — sporting Utah dealer plates — supposedly imbibed with the 600-hp Viper V10 and an "SRT10" badge. So, you're just going to leave that there, then? [RedLetterDodge] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5666286&view=rss&microfeed=true President Obama unveiled new, unified fuel standards today: 35.5 MPG fleet-wide by 2016. [Forbes] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5360051&view=rss&microfeed=true

When Obama unveiled new fuel standards we decried the end of fun cars and pointed out how far most automakers are from meeting new-for-2016 fuel standards. It turns out, thanks to Hummer-sized loopholes like your car's air-conditioning, automakers should be able to meet them with little fear. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5265996&view=rss&microfeed=true California already plotting America's post-2016 fuel standards. [Reuters via AutoNews] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5264188&view=rss&microfeed=true

The just-announced fuel economy policy changes demand 39 MPG for cars and 30 MPG for light trucks. A look at the data shows not a single automaker currently meets the new guidelines proposed today. Update. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5261242&view=rss&microfeed=true

President Obama and distinguished hostages auto execs just unveiled new emissions and fuel economy standards. The result? They've just killed all the fun cars. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5261163&view=rss&microfeed=true

According to Politico, the Obama administration's announcing a new national auto standards policy for 2016. The plan supposedly marries U.S. fuel economy and emissions standards to California polices and be supported by automakers and policymakers. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5259723&view=rss&microfeed=true

The U.S. Transportation Department today will mandate the first passenger car fuel economy increase since 1975. The 2011 model year will require a fleetwide 8% increase above 2010 model year requirements to 27.3 MPG. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5186778&view=rss&microfeed=true Good question, but wrong road to the right answer. [AlleyInsider] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5140101&view=rss&microfeed=true

Not content to end up in a punky post-apocalyptic world because of an energy shortage, a la the great Australian film The Road Warrior, the Australian version of AAA is requesting the government implement some sort of average fuel limits similar to our CAFE standards. The NRMA thinks the move could save the country 1.4 billion gallons of fuel a year, as well as drop costs for the consumer. Lacking these standards, the Australians have produced vehicles such as the V8-powered FPV Super Pursuit Ute and HSV Tourer. As an alternative they could just stop driving with Koalas in their grilles. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=398598&view=rss&microfeed=true

Instead of manning up and facing the engineering challenges brought on by the Bush Administration's 2011-2015 CAFE regulations, GM Ford Chrysler BMW is crying to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about how the new targets are "not feasible." Instead, the automaker is proposing a special category for manufacturers like themselves, which would allow them to make fleet-wide economy improvements of just 4.5% a year beginning in 2010. Yeah, pretty much a bunch of bellyaching from an automaker who's seen record sales the past few years. Sounds like somebody needs a nap. [Auto News, Sub. Req.] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=397768&view=rss&microfeed=true

Mike Jackson, Chairman and CEO of AutoNation (and thus America's number one car salesman), finally breaks taboo and utters the unthinkable: High gas prices are a good thing. "You have to tell the American people the truth," he says. "Energy costs are going to be higher." Oh Mike, Mike, Mike. Don't you know that the first rule of Car Club is that gas will always be cheap? And if it isn't, then you make it cheap, a-la Chrysler's "Let's Refuel America?" Mr. Jackson's poignant, thoughtful wacky rationale after the jump. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=395495&view=rss&microfeed=true

Instead of throwing all of its cash down the yawning maw of biofuel and hydrogen fuel cells, GM intends to get some quick fuel economy wins the smart way - with lower displacement and turbos. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=350043&view=rss&microfeed=true

MarketWatch has a fairly shaggy interview with GM's "Maximum Bob" Lutz in which he opines on the impending 2020 federal mandate that carmakers achieve 35mpg CAFE standards. First, Lutz says he wants to see gas prices in the U.S. rise, to levels similar to what the rest of the world pays (which would be more than twice as expensive as the $3 per gallon that many Americans are paying now). Then, he argues that the CAFE requirements, as long as gas is still relatively cheap, put GM "at war" with its customers, who want big trucks the company can't get to achieve the 35mpg target. Soooo... let's put two and two together: In Lutz's vision of our motoring future, more expensive gas solves GM's CAFE challenge by curtailing demand for the company's current key product, big trucks. Those customers are replaced by folks who desire smaller vehicles that are significantly more expensive, due to advanced tech. Maybe Lutz was talking off the cuff, but we were struck by these comments. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=347065&view=rss&microfeed=true

Speaking at the Detroit Auto Show, Bob Lutz, Vice Chairman of GM, said, "This is going to be a net average of cost of $6,000 per vehicle which will have to be passed onto the consumer. The good news is it won't come all at once, because 35 mpg doesn't kick in all at once." Lutz goes on to claim that the average American will be forced to hold on to their cars longer, also increasing the cost of used vehicles. [Via eGM CarTech] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=344664&view=rss&microfeed=true

If you've been wondering what Ford's big plans were for dealing with the new energy bill and higher CAFE standards and guessed hybrids or electric cars &mdash you were wrong. Ford's big plan is to add turbocharging and direct injection to 500,000 vehicles, starting with the 2009 Lincoln MKS. Ford claims this technology will boost performance while also affordably decreasing gasoline usage. According to their numbers, an EcoBoost car can recoup the initial investment in the technology in 30 months, compared to 12 years for a hybrid and 7.5 years for a diesel. The press release detailing this wild technology below the jump. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=342193&view=rss&microfeed=true

According to the Guardian, Vice President Dick Cheney masterminded the EPA's recent decision to deny California the ability to impose tough new vehicle emissions limits. Governor Schwarzenegger has described the EPA's ruling as "legally indefensible." More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=337372&view=rss&microfeed=true

Automakers are lining up behind the new Energy Bill that's working its way through congress. They've seen the writing on the wall and, all things considered, got a fairly good deal considering the prevailing sentiment regarding car emissions and foreign oil. Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli congratulated Congress and pledged that the company would rise to meet the higher CAFE standards. Full statement below: More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=335367&view=rss&microfeed=true

After much back and forth, including a veto threat and failure to get cloture, the energy bill has finally passed the Senate by a vote of 86-8. To get the votes, Democrats had to compromise on utility reductions and increasing taxes on oil companies. The new bill will require automakers to reach a Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) of 35 mpg by 2020, as well as increase ethanol use to 36 billion gallons a year. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=333960&view=rss&microfeed=true

A bill that would raise the fuel economy standard for cars and trucks to 35mpg by 2020 has stalled in the Senate after passing in the House of Representatives. The bill, which is heavily contested by lobbyists for the American auto industry, failed to reach cloture by 7 votes. It's expected that Democrats will push for those cloture votes over the weekend. [Source: Automotive News] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=331363&view=rss&microfeed=true

A funny thing happened at the LA Auto Show. I ran into a bunch of folks from various OEMs that had spent the last few months in Washington DC lobbying against higher CAFE standards. The lone exception was Honda. Yeah, they had people bribing lobbying Congress, but the Honda folks were asking for higher CAFE standards. And sure, Honda is poised to benefit big time from a 35 mpg corporate average. Even including Acura they have no rear-wheel drive vehicles (though a new NSX would change that... Update: and I totally forgot about the S2000). Plus they got the Fit, hybrids, new clean-diesel technology and of course the hydrogen powered Clarity. Mr. Honda was fond of saying that an engineer is lucky when he encounters a problem, because he then gets to solve it. As such, we present today's winning Commenter. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=329919&view=rss&microfeed=true

President Bush is content with letting his presidency be remembered for stretching the truth to get us into an economically and strategically harmful conflict in the Middle East. But he'll be damned if he'll be remembered for letting congress raise the corporate average fuel economy mandates to 35 mpg! The industry is raising standards on their own, anyways. Haven't the Dems seen the Hybrid Escalade? More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=329641&view=rss&microfeed=true

It looks like automakers will have to meet the dreaded 35-mpg fuel economy standard despite the gazillion dollars they claim it will take to get their cars sipping gasoline like it's Dom Pérignon. Senate and House members are working out the final details of a bill that will likely have a significant impact on what we drive over the next decade and then some. Automakers had been lobbying against the initial bill, expressing specific concern over wording that would require cars and light trucks to meet the same 35-mpg benchmark. The latest edition allows vehicle to meet standards lower than 35 mpg based on their weight and size as long as an automaker's entire fleet meets the 35-mpg standard. Click through the jump to find out what other changes are expected — and what the chances are that Toys 'R Us (how the hell do you type a backwards 'R' on a computer?) will bring back that $50 Dodge Viper bike. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=328318&view=rss&microfeed=true

It seems like the Car Talk brothers don't quite have the political capital they thought they did as it looks like both Senate and House fuel-economy bills aren't gaining that much traction. Automakers clearly oppose just about any regulation, saying it'll make them harder to compete. Even with a Democratic congress there are a lot of challenges to getting either bill to pass. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=323616&view=rss&microfeed=true

Word out of the White House is President Bush is united with Detroit automakers and Toyota in opposing the proposed Senate CAFE changes. But rather than just lobby Congress with the persistence of a whiny three-year-old industry on the brink of collapse, Bush could actually crush the bill once and for all. Alan Hubbard, director of the president's National Economic Council said the administration would likely veto any bill that combines truck and car fuel economy under one standard. The Senate bill sets a standard of 35 mpg by 2020 for both cars and trucks. [The Detroit News] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=312271&view=rss&microfeed=true

GM decided not to take yesterday's peppering by Thomas Friedman's shotgun laying down. Mere minutes after we dropped our post on Tommy Boy's anti-Toyota tirade, the General's FYI blog had quickly dropped a retort penned by GM's Tom Wilkinson. Wilkinson, who is not at all the same Tom Wilkinson as the actor who played Carmine Falcone in Batman Begins pictured to the left, proceeds to point out a number of "issues" GM had with Friedman's piece. These "issues" include his perceived lack of understanding of why gas prices are higher in Europe and that trucks are people vehicles too, comprising 40% of the new vehicle market. In addition, Wilkinson asked Friedman to "step off his soapbox and use his gifts as a reporter to develop a deeper understanding of this complex, fast-moving and vitally important industry." Wilkinson then went on to point out Friedman's mother was a hamster and his father smelled of elderberries. Tommy Boy, the soapbox is now yours. [FYI Blog] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=307084&view=rss&microfeed=true

New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman is shaking a finger at the American automotive market again, and this time it's Toyota that he's ticked at. Friedman seems to have difficulty wrapping his head around the fact Toyota, with the most fuel-efficient vehicle on the market, has joined the automakers formerly known as the big three in fighting the Senate bill to increase combined corporate average fuel economy to 35 mpg by 2020. We thought it was pretty obvious that Toyota was, you know, a company, and would be looking to maximize profits, as companies are wont to do. While Toyota's suffering the worst of the blast, they're not the only one Friedman hit in yesterday's blast. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=306953&view=rss&microfeed=true More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=280212&view=rss&microfeed=true

Our senior editor from Detroit's been called into service yet again to have a pundigasm on air on CNBC's On The Money. Tonight he'll be helping answer the question: "Will congress mandating fuel economy standards kill Detroit?" While he figures out how in the name of Exxon he'll answer that by 7:00 PM EST tonight, you can help by coming up with some new rules. As always, if you're confused as to what's going on — take a run through our Official Car Pundit Drinking Game tag. Trust us, it'll all become as clear as a thrice-used beer mug. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=279808&view=rss&microfeed=true

Looks like the US Senate did last night what many all automakers feared they'd do — lump cars, trucks and SUV's together and force all to abide by the same standard for Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) numbers. The new standard, if approved by the US House — a feat we're hearing is not fait accompli, would require US automakers to hit 35 MPG for cars, SUV's and light trucks by 2025. That's a significant bump up from the current standard which mandates an average for cars of more than 27.5 MPG and light trucks more than 20.7 mpg (trucks under 8500 lb must average 22.5 mpg in 2008, 23.1 mpg in 2009, and 23.5 mpg in 2010). More importantly it puts the most onerous changes on the automakers with the heaviest portfolio of light haulers of heavy things. It would seem to us it's not the most onerous task on earth to get fuel economy numbers up to these levels — as long as they're allowed to count all vehicles they produce regardless of where they're producing them. That'll require a fight with the UAW over "domestic" and "foreign" fleets but it seems to us for fairness, they'll need to have that fight. But we're not holding our breath on anything until we see what transpires in the House — whenever that ends up happening. – Ray Wert More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=271297&view=rss&microfeed=true

You know things are bad for your industry when the US Senate Commerce Committee passes a bill raising passenger fleet automotive fuel standards to 35 mpg as the average come 2020, and there's only two Republican senators expressing "reservations" about the bill. You know things have gone from bad to worse when the two senators are Ted "The Internet Is Not A Big Truck" Stevens of Alaska and Trent "Strom Is The Bomb" Lott of Mississippi. Just sayin'... – Ray Wert More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=258844&view=rss&microfeed=true

Uh oh. Looks like Bob "Hamburgler" Lutz has doffed his corporate-communications tracking device again and grabbed for the megaphone. Lately, on his Fastlane Blog, Lutz mouthed off on how Japanese automakers might loophole through proposed tougher CAFE standards. He said that increasing such standards by four percent per year would pack and ship the truck and SUV market to Japanese manufacturers, who, he says, "have earned years of accumulated credits from their fleets of formerly very small cars." Trouble is, as Farago points out from his TTAC soapbox, that's about as correct as an arithmetic problem summing to monkeybrains. Farago, of course, has some opinions on why The General's generals would let Lutz rule. Here's a hint, it has nothing to do with sliders. – Mike Spinelli More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=224509&view=rss&microfeed=true

Big surprise that fat-cappy press, Forbes isn't in favor of imposing Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards to dictate automakers' fleet-wide gas mileage. This past Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta outlined the government's plan to alter mileage standards for all light trucks sold in the US. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=122313&view=rss&microfeed=true