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New administration or not, some things never change, including the inherent leakiness of Washington D.C., a city where not even duct tape could keep all the holes sealed.






Latest word to dribble out prematurely is that the Obama administration is expected to announce later today that the federal standard for vehicle fuel-efficiency will be raised to 27.3 miles per gallon for 2011 models, up almost 8 percent from today's 25.3 mpg.


The standard, called the corporate average fuel economy standard, or CAFE, is a complex, sales-weighted averaging of fuel-efficiency for each make and model across each automaker's entire line.


Environmental groups had hoped the new administration would boost CAFE further but expect more to come as Obama's team settles in.


The president and his new transportation secretary both have said they believe the CAFE standard can be increased beyond the 35 mpg level for the 2020 model year that was set by Congress a few years ago.


The new CAFE rules to be announced today, according to reports in several publications, would require 2011 model-year passenger cars to achieve a fleet average of 30.2 mpg, up from 27.5 mpg now, while light truck fuel economy would have to average 24.1 mpg, up from 23 mpg. Combined, the car and truck average would be 27.3 miles per gallon.


A spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers told the Wall Street Journal that the new standard is "a good first step" but that automakers "now need the administration to finalize fuel economy regulations for 2012 and beyond" so the industry can finalize plans for vehicles and powertrains that will enable it to meet the standards.

Tags: Fuel Economy, CAFE, Fuel Economy

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New CAFE Standard for 2011 Model Year Expected To Be Set at 27.3 MPG was originally published by Green Car Advisor. Read the full story by clicking here.