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Findings |
Recommendations |
- The CAFE program has contributed to increased fuel
economy of the nation’s light-duty vehicle fleet during the
past 22 years.
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- The CAFE system, or any alternative regulatory system,
should include broad trading of fuel economy “credits.
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- Certain aspects of the CAFE program have not functioned
as intended:
- The car/truck distinction has been stretched beyond
the original purpose.
- No evidence that the “2-fleet rule” distinguishing
between domestic and foreign has had any perceptible
effect on total employment in the U.S. automotive
industry.
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- Consideration should be given to designing and
evaluating an approach with fuel economy targets that are
dependent on vehicle attributes, such as vehicle weight,
that influence fuel use
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- Technologies exist that, if applied to the light-duty
fleet (passenger cars and light-trucks), would significantly
reduce fuel consumption within 15 years.
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- Under any system of fuel economy targets, the “2-fleet
rule” for domestic and foreign content should be eliminated.
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- Report to
Congress on “Effects of the Alternative Motor Fuels Act CAFE
Incentives Policy
This document provides an overview of the Corporate
Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) incentives policy to encourage the
production of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) and the impact it
has had on the availability of AFVs, petroleum use and greenhouse
gas emissions in the United States. The report was prepared in
consultation with the Department of Energy and the Environmental
Protection Agency.
Summary Highlights follow:
- The Alternative Motor Fuels Act of 1988 (AMFA, Pub. L. 100
94, October 14, 1988) provides CAFE incentives for the
manufacture of vehicles that use ethanol, methanol, or natural
gas fuels, either exclusively or as an alternate fuel in
conjunction with gasoline or diesel fuel. The primary purpose
of AMFA is to encourage the widespread use of these fuels and
to promote the production of alternative fuel vehicles by
manufacturers.
- Manufacturers producing alternative fuel vehicles that
meet specific energy efficiency and minimum driving range
requirements are able to gain CAFE credits by manufacturing
these vehicles. This helps manufacturers raise their overall
fleet fuel economy levels in their efforts to comply with the
CAFE standards. The maximum allowable increase in CAFE from MY
1993 B 2004 is 1.2 mpg per manufacturer.
- The AMFA CAFE credit program has been successful in
stimulating a significant increase in the availability of
alternative fuel vehicles (mostly ethanol E85 flexible-fuel
vehicles). Because manufacturers had to overcome technological
challenges, nearly the entire increase has been in the past
three years.
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