Fed up with having to continuously go to the pump to refill your vehicle’s gas tank? You’re not alone. But the good news is that, if you just wait 13 years, you’ll be able to buy a new vehicle that gets double the mileage of what vehicles nowadays average.
Today’s new vehicles have to meet standards of 27.3 miles per gallon, but beginning in 2025, new automobiles will be required to average 54.5 miles per gallon. The Obama administration issued the new rules just a couple days ago. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration supports the initiative, as does a coalition of 13 different automobile manufacturers who account for 90% of the vehicles sold in this country.
The rules were a joint effort between the Environmental Protection Agency and the NHTSA. The President first introduced possible measures in July 2011, and this final ruling helps the administration get about 50% of the way to the goal of cutting down on foreign oil imports by one third. The standards, known as Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards, will reportedly also reduce emissions by six billion metric tons. In 2010, our country didn’t even emit that much carbon monoxide.
Although this move has garnered widespread support from the organizations mentioned above, as well as agencies like United Auto Workers, not everyone is optimistic about the move. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said just a couple months ago that such standards can’t be the primary way to reduce emissions, and that he would try to find some better solution. The website Edmunds.com is one other entity that seems hesitant to applaud the move. They want to see the market dictate the standards of automobiles, and the site’s leadership argues that this ruling makes automakers invest in technology that consumers don’t necessarily want.
The makers of hybrids and electric cars will also receive incentives to build such vehicles under the new rules.