Copyright 2000 Gannett Company, Inc.
USA TODAY
June 30, 2000, Friday, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: LIFE; Pg. 9D
LENGTH: 211 words
HEADLINE:
How the luxury car became a light truck
BYLINE: James
R. Healey
BODY:
Volvo's XC station wagon is the
latest member of the car-truck
crossover club.
Based on the
chassis of a luxury car, XC nonetheless is classed
a light truck by the
federal government. XC's off-road capabilities,
ground clearance and bumper
height qualify it as Volvo's only
light truck, the automaker says.
"We did it for CAFE purposes," says Volvo spokesman Dan Johnston.
CAFE stands for corporate average fuel economy, the
government's
miles-per-gallon standard.
Under
CAFE, the combined fuel economy of all cars an automaker
sells must average
27.5 miles per gallon. Trucks enjoy a more-lenient
20.7 mpg. Automakers that
miss those marks pay fines based on
how far off the average was in a year
and how many vehicles they
sold.
XC's combined city-highway fuel
economy is about 20 mpg using
the federal formula. That fails to meet the
truck minimum of 20.7,
so Volvo still will have to pay a fine at year's end.
But it will
be less than if XC were pooled with Volvo's cars, dragging down
their overall average. Volvo's cars average 26.5 mpg, Johnston
says, and
Volvo pays a fine for their 1-mpg shortfall vs. the
CAFE standard.
DaimlerChrysler got its PT Cruiser classed as a truck for the
same fuel-economy benefits.
LOAD-DATE: July 01,
2000 
