Green Fleet of Vehicles
Thanks to new stringent federal rules, cars and trucks will be 40 percent more fuel-efficient by 2016.
The directives include the first-ever standards for greenhouse gas emissions.
These first national standards not only show that America will keep up with other countries that already produce fuel-efficient cars, the stringent standards also force the American automotive companies to leap forward in vehicle technology, helping American car companies stay competitive.
Beginning with the 2012 model year, automakers will be required to boost their fleet-wide fuel economy incrementally to achieve an average 37.8 mpg for passenger cars, and 28.8 mpg for pick-ups, SUVs, and vans.
Low-volume and specialty automakers will have longer lead times to reach these mandates.
The EPA estimates that these changes will save around 1.8 billion barrels of oil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 960 million metric tons over the lifetime of the vehicles covered by the new regulations.
More fuel-efficient compact and subcompact cars like the Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Fiestra, Mazda2 and Fiat 500 are heading to dealers' showrooms later this year.
Electric cars such as Chevrolet's Volt and Nissan's Leaf are also on the horizon.
Fuel-efficient cars don't give up drivability because they use direct injection, a system which uses high pressure to pump gas directly into an engine's individual cylinders so that maximum power can be obtained from the least amount of fuel.
Turbocharging is another fuel-efficient term. It enables smaller engines to perform like larger ones.
Future models of cars will also be more aerodynamic in design, lighter because of aluminum and carbon fiber, and move on low-rolling resistance tires to further increase fuel economy.
Even though developing new designs and technology will cost automakers an estimated $52 million, which is expected to increase the average vehicle's sticker price by around $950, auto aficionados and eco-friendly consumers wait with bated breath because the EPA suggests that motorist will see a net savings in the vicinity of $3000 over a car's lifetime because of the reduced fuel consumption.
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