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Average car-truck fuel-economy standards rise to 27.3 mpg
The Center for Auto Safety is the nation’s premier independent, member driven, non-profit consumer advocacy organization dedicated to improving vehicle safety, quality, and fuel economy on behalf of all drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.
March 29, 2009
By John Hughes
Cars must average 30.2 mpg under the rule, up from 27.5 required under current law, which runs out after 2010. Light trucks will average 24.1, up from 23.5 mpg for 2010 models. The December 2007 energy law called for vehicles to meet a 35 mpg standard by 2020 models, a 40% increase from the average in 2008.
"The bad news is that the 27.3 mpg standard means that they’ll have to make up for it in future years," said Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Campaign, a group in Washington that works for environmentally "clean" cars. "The goods news is that they have promised that they will."