ACEEE Transportation Program

Goal: Foster innovative technologies, programs, and policies for increasing motor vehicle fuel economy, reducing emissions, and enhancing overall transportation system efficiency.

ACEEE is a leader in efforts to improve the energy efficiency of cars and trucks. We conduct engineering and economic studies of the potential for efficiency improvement and provide advice regarding the development of programs and policies to realize this potential in the market. We advocate a balanced set of measures, including stronger Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, federal and state incentives for greener vehicles, and consumer education and other market creation initiatives, as well as research and development of advanced technologies. We take an integrated approach to the issue, addressing how fuel efficiency relates to emissions, safety, clean production, and renewable fuels.

We seek to encourage manufacturers to produce high-efficiency, low-pollution vehicles and also to motivate consumers to purchase them. A cornerstone of this effort is ACEEE's Green Book^®: The Environmental Guide to Cars and Trucks and its website: http://www.greenercars.com/. We are directly engaging the auto industry concerning marketing challenges for efficient vehicles. We are collaborating with other public interest groups on a nationwide Clean Car Campaign. This effort includes promoting purchases of greener vehicles by government and private fleets as well as by individual consumers and also advocating the simple, empowering message that people should choose the cleanest and most efficient vehicles that meet their needs and fit their budgets.

ACEEE is directing attention to transportation efficiency in freight movement as well, investigating both technologies to reduce the fuel consumption of trucks and opportunities to enhance the energy efficiency of the freight network as a whole. We are also beginning new work to assess the potential energy savings of travel demand management strategies, including land use policies, public transit investments, and market-based measures. We support reform of parking subsidies, equitable changes in taxation and transportation user fees, and creative strategies such as pay-as-you-drive auto insurance that can motivate more efficient mode and vehicle choices.

Selected Publications:

Greener Fleets: Fuel Economy Progress and Prospects (view full report)

An Analysis of Traffic Deaths by Vehicle Type and Model (view full report)

CAFE Menu (view full report in htm or pdf)

Technical Options for Improving the Fuel Economy of U.S. Cars and Light Trucks by 2010-2015 (view executive summary)

Losing Weight to Save Lives: A Review of the Role of Automobile Weight and Size in Traffic Fatalities (view executive summary)

Transportation Energy Trends and Issues through 2030 (view abstract)