ACEEE PRESS BRIEF
REPORT SAYS AUTO MANUFACTURERS COULD GREATLY IMPROVE FUEL ECONOMY AT LOW COST WITH EXISTING TECHNOLOGY
Improvements Would Safeguard
Driving Public, Maintain Availability of Popular Larger Models
For further information, contact: John DeCicco at 202-387-3500 or Therese
Langer
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 1, 2001
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A new study demonstrates that major improvements
in the fuel economy of passenger vehicles are achievable at modest cost over
the next 10 to 15 years by using designs and equipment that are already in use
or will be soon. The improvements could be achieved without compromising the
safety of the driving public or downgrading the performance of the light trucks
and SUVs that have been so popular with consumers (and profitable for their
makers) in recent years. The report indicates that the findings of the National
Academy of Sciences CAFE panel, released Monday, understate the potential gains.
It also shows that the Markey/Boehlert Light Truck Loophole Amendment, to be
introduced in the House today, represents the tip of the iceberg in terms of
feasible, near-term fuel economy improvements
The report, Technical Options for Improving the
Fuel Economy of U.S. Cars and Light Trucks by 2010-2015,
by John DeCicco, Feng An, and Marc Ross, was published by the American
Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. Its detailed engineering
analysis shows that if auto manufacturers emphasized increasing
the fuel economy of vehicles rather than just increasing power and
luxury, they could produce a full range of passenger vehicles having
an average fuel economy up to 70 percent higher than the current
fleet average.
"That's an average of 41 miles per gallon for the entire new passenger
vehicle fleet (cars and light trucks), up from today's 24 mpg," says Therese
Langer, ACEEE's Transportation Program Director. "And the cost of achieving
these fuel economy gains would be less than the likely increase in vehicle price
over the next 10 years with no efficiency improvements."
"These fuel economy improvements involve no tradeoffs in size or power,"
states DeCicco, a Senior Fellow with Environmental Defense. In addition to improved
engines, transmissions, and electronics, the study examines optimal use of strong,
lightweight materials to selectively reduce vehicle weight in ways that would
enhance overall safety. "A unique aspect of our study is that it targets
weight reduction where it is needed most, in heavier vehicles such as SUVs,"
notes DeCicco. "Our assumed design changes also accommodate widening and
strengthening of small cars, resulting in a safer fleet overall."
Even further improvements could come from "hybrid" gasoline-electric
vehicle technologies, as featured in the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight.
Although more costly, extensive use of such hybrid technologies could more than
double fuel economy while still meeting the most stringent standards for tailpipe
pollution.
The study finds that, if automakers start improving their vehicles in 2003
so as to achieve an overall new car and light truck average of 41 mpg by 2012,
nationwide fuel savings would reach 1.3 million barrels per day as soon as 2010,
equivalent to displacing 16 average petroleum refineries. Benefits would grow
as improved vehicles spread throughout the fleet. By 2020, savings would amount
to 3.9 million barrels per day with a corresponding 33 percent reduction in
passenger vehicle carbon dioxide emissions.
Copies of Technical Options for Improving
the Fuel Economy of U.S. Cars and Light Trucks by 2010-2015
are available for $23 (including shipping). To order, contact ACEEE Publications, 529 14th Street, N.W., Suite 600, Washington, D.C. 20045, phone: 202-507-4000, fax: 202-429-2248, e-mail: aceee_publications@aceee.org.
