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Would drastic increases in CAFE standards affect vehicle safety? |
| A. | Yes. If significantly higher CAFE standards are adopted,
automakers will have little choice but to build mostly smaller, lighter
cars and light trucks. No affordable technologies exist to achieve leaps
in fuel economy without downsizing and downweighting. Countless studies
have confirmed smaller, lighter vehicles do not offer occupants as much
protection in a crash as larger, heavier vehicles.
A study by the Harvard Injury Control Center found a 40 percent increase in CAFE standards would result in vehicle downsizing and downweighting that would cause an additional 1,650 deaths and 8,500 serious injuries on our highways each year. These deaths and injuries are in addition to those already occurring every year as a result of downsizing and downweighting since the mid-1970s. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates these figures to be 2,000 deaths and 20,000 serious injuries annually. |
| . |
What economic impacts would a drastic CAFE increase have? |
| A. | Substantial CAFE increases would affect millions of Americans in
several ways. First, higher CAFE standards would severely limit the
availability of mid- and full-size vehicles on which individuals and small
businesses rely. These vehicles will become more expensive (the National
Academy of Sciences study says by as much as $2,750), as automakers will
limit production and sales of vehicles with lower fuel economy ratings.
(This cost hike would be over and above an expected increase of $2,000 for
new safety and emissions requirements.) The result will be an additional
cost burden on many individuals and small businesses, or possibly the
burden of lost access to vehicles that meet their personal and
professional needs.
The National Academy of Sciences reported "Consumer trends . . . are all in opposition to achieving higher fleet fuel economy." The study added, "If gains in fuel economy are achieved at the expense of other attributes that consumers value (e.g., performance, size, safety, accessories and cargo space), consumers may tend to retain their current vehicles longer or find themselves with little choice but to purchase vehicles that do not satisfy their requirements." A drastic CAFE increase will also affect the auto industry (and its suppliers), the largest job producer in our country. Auto sales may decline as consumers are unable to afford new vehicles, or as consumers decide to keep older vehicles longer for their greater utility. Lost revenues could cost jobs throughout the industry. Ironically, the current CAFE law favors foreign, small car producers, like the Japanese and puts U.S. manufacturers at a competitive disadvantage which hurts U.S. jobs. |
| . |
Would higher CAFE standards reduce our dependence on foreign oil? |
| A. | To answer this question, look back at the last twenty years. In the
mid-1970s, the United States imported about one-third of the oil it
consumed. Today, after automakers doubled the average fuel economy of the
new-car fleet, the United States imports about one-half the oil it uses.
Massive fuel economy improvements did nothing to relieve our reliance on
oil imports, because U.S. oil imports are largely determined by world oil
prices - not by the fuel economy of our vehicles. In short, there is no
reason to expect that substantial CAFE increases will help the country
meet this challenge.
Better ways of reducing oil consumption might include the use of alternative fuels such as natural gas and alcohol, projects to reduce traffic congestion, and programs which accelerate the retirement of older, higher polluting, less fuel-efficient cars and trucks. |
| . |
What impact would higher CAFE standards have on air pollution? |
| A. | A common misperception is that better fuel economy reduces harmful tailpipe emissions. In fact, fuel economy is not related to emissions of pollutants, and boosting fuel economy does not cut emissions. The chief pollutants (hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen) are regulated by emission limits that are the same for all vehicles (on a gram-per-mile basis) regardless of fuel economy. In other words, by law, the least fuel-efficient car cannot pollute more than the most fuel-efficient. The National Academy of Sciences study said, "Fuel economy improvements will not directly affect vehicle emissions of [tailpipe emissions] . . . ." |
| . |
What impact would higher CAFE standards have on the risk of global warming? |
| A. | Some activists claim reductions in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions resulting from fuel economy improvements will reduce significantly the potential for global warming. But because the CO2 emissions from U.S. vehicles which would be affected by an increase in CAFE are such a small portion of global, man-made greenhouse gases (1.5 percent), proposed increases would make little difference. According to government data a 40 percent increase in CAFE would reduce the car and light truck portion of global, man-made greenhouse gases by only four-tenths of one percent. Such a small reduction in CO2 emissions would make no difference in potential global warming scenarios. |
| . |
Are fuel economy improvements possible at all? |
| A. | Improvements in fuel economy are possible, but only if consumers are
willing to accept trade-offs in safety, performance, size and utility, and
cost. The NAS report said, "The fuel economy of a vehicle results from the
trade-offs, guided in part by costs and benefits, that must be made among
a variety of vehicle characteristics." These characteristics include
safety and emissions-control features, acceleration and power, cargo and
passenger space, price, and others. More of one feature can mean less of
another. And new safety features which add more weight also tend to work
against improved fuel economy.
Most consumers are not willing to accept these trade-offs in return for a few additional miles per gallon. |
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updated: 8/24/97 |