Should the US raise CAFE (Corporate Automobile Fuel Efficiency) standards for light trucks and SUVs?
Issue Summary Corporate Automobile Fuel Efficiency or CAFE standards are in place to regulate the average fuel efficiency of vehicles. These are currently set at 27.5 mpg for cars and 21.2 mpg for light trucks (set to rise to 22.2 by 2007). In a given model year, an automobile corporation must manufacture autos and light trucks that are fuel-efficient enough such that their corporate averages reach these standards. The corporate average is the average mpg across their entire fleet of vehicles in the given class. It is possible for an automaker to make more or less efficient cars and trucks, as long as their average reaches the CAFE Standards. Currently, autos and light trucks/SUVs under 8500 lbs are subject to these standards. Many larger vehicles, such as Hummers, large trucks and SUVs weigh more than 8500 lbs fully loaded and are thus exempt from these regulations. Environmental groups urge action and see raising CAFE standards as a helpful step in reducing CO2 and other tailpipe emi
