Vehicle corporate average fuel economy (CAFÉ) standards are regulations that require the fuel economy of vehicles to remain above a specific mileage for a certain class of vehicle. These regulations are mainly to reduce the CO2 emissions into the earth's atmosphere. Although, this sounds like a wonderful idea there are many factors, which cause people to believe otherwise. Before people arrive at opinions, they should have an understanding of the history and the regulations of CAFÉ standards. In the subsequent paragraphs the following information about CAFÉ standards will be provided: history, importance, what are the problems, and information on what actions are being taken.
History:.
Vehicle CAFÉ standards were created in 1975, due to the first Arab oil embargo of the United States. The Congress created an energy conservation bill, which included a new auto fuel economy program. The Department of Transportation set corporate average fuel economy (CAFÉ) standards for new cars in 1978 and for new light trucks starting in 1979. Automakers were required to meet standards on a sales-weighted basis. If the manufactures did not comply with these new standards, they would receive a substantial fine. The environmental protection agency (EPA) was put in charge of measuring fuel economy, laboratory test procedures, and the mileage window stickers. From the time that these standards were set many arguments took place on whether they were set at the correct level. New technology and improvements in vehicles made it hard to keep the existing regulations current. In 1990, Congress passed a new Clean Air Act, with higher tailpipe emissions standards for cars and light trucks, which limited opportunities for fuel-economy improvement. Along with the smaller, more fuel-efficient car, came a growing concern for safety. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a comprehensive safety study that showed that with downsizing of cars came an increase in death and risk of injury.