August 28, 2012-by John Blair, valleywatch.net editor
To achieve the much greater mileage, electric cars are figured to play a big part. Tesla, Toyota, Nissan and GM and Ford are all offering some version of hybrid or plug-in model cars some of which already achieve the standards set for 2025. Other options could be fuel cell powered automobiles. Pictured is the Chevy Volt.
After years of debate and acquiescence, the Obama Administration today issued new Federal mileage regulations which will force auto manufacturers to increase fuel economy to an equivalent of 54.5 MPG for cars and light trucks by the year 2025.
These fuel standards represent the single most important step we’ve ever taken to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” said President Obama. “This historic agreement builds on the progress we’ve already made to save families money at the pump and cut our oil consumption. By the middle of the next decade our cars will get nearly 55 miles per gallon, almost double what they get today. It’ll strengthen our nation’s energy security, it’s good for middle class families and it will help create an economy built to last.”
These new standards will undoubtedly transform our vehicle fleet and present new opportunities to improve the overall economy of the USA as well as that of the entire world. It will do that by changing not only vehicles, but also promoting a transformative “conservation ethic” which Valley Watch has been promoting since its inception in 1981.
New manufacturing norms, new technologies and new product lines will emerge as manufacturers seek new and better ways to improve transportation modes as well as infrastructure to accommodate the new standards.
According to Whitehouse projections, the new mileage standards will save American families more than $1.7 trillion dollars in fuel costs, resulting in an average fuel savings of more than $8,000 by 2025 over the lifetime of the vehicle. For families purchasing a model Year 2025 vehicle, the net savings will be comparable to lowering the price of gasoline by approximately $1 per gallon. Additionally, these programs will dramatically reduce our reliance on foreign oil, saving a total of 12 billion barrels of oil and reducing oil consumption by more than 2 million barrels a day by 2025 – as much as half of the oil we import from OPEC each day.