German industry braces as EU car emissions rules support

Brussels - EU diplomats unanimously supported on Friday the world's toughest carbon dioxide emission standards for new cars, the German automaker said would be a huge challenge.

Diplomatic recognition by all 28 EU Member States followed an agreement earlier this week, Germany's refusal, ended months of dispute over an earlier compromise deal.

It is expected, followed by a vote in the plenary of the European Parliament in January and then the approval by EU governments. Then it will be right.

The previous agreement in June called for a limit of 95 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre of the EU fleet by 2020. This week delayed the full implementation by one year.

It changes the rules flexibility, German luxury automakers such as Daimler and BMW, whose Emissionen are higher than those of smaller, lighter car manufacturers like Fiat to allow more leeway.

Europe has 130 grams of C02 per kilometer on average across the EU fleet so far maximum by 2015, a goal of many manufacturers are already meeting or close to it.

But Germany's VDA auto industry association said that the implementation of the new fuel efficiency would act "Require enormous effort" by manufacturers and suppliers.

It said the corresponding U.S. standard was 121 g/km by 2020, and China was 117 g / km.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose Partei received money from BMW, took up the cause of the big German automakers, declare protected German jobs and persuaded to agree to the other EU States, the June agreement to scrap.

Environmentalists and consumer groups have lambasted, weaker Germany the proposals that reduce CO2 emissions to reduce heating costs.

British consultancy Cambridge Econometrics estimated that Europe around 70 billion euros (95.3 billion$) save on oil would imported this 95 g/km target in the entire EU fleet.

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Automakers sound off about noise rules

Paul A. Eisenstein, the Detroit Bureau 11 clock.

Whining has always been a noise, which have resisted by the world automakers in the years tangible proposals by Governments, civil society groups and consumer advocates, the cars make safe operation in congested environments.

So it is really no surprise automakers - including domestic, Asian and European companies, who generally agree with can't, pedestrian oncoming electric cars and other nearly silent vehicles complain on that blue color is all - Obama administration recommendation to alarm in unison.

The carmakers initially supported the idea but now claim of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed rules visually impaired warn using minimal noise level and are far too stressful pedestrians and other cyclists.

The rule "is too complicated and unnecessarily prescriptive. If proposed to implement it would lead, warning that louder than necessary, more than necessary, '' said creating drivers and passengers hassle and costs of the Alliance of automobile manufacturers and the Association of the global car manufacturers in common written comments to NHTSA.

Federal estimates fall will the odds on a hybrid vehicle in a pedestrian involved are 19% higher than with conventional gas - or diesel-powered vehicles. For a car-bicycle crashes, it is 38% higher.

The rules should complain gradually implemented from September 2014, but manufacturers also the timetable "is not possible", and they want to completely revise its proposal, NHTSA and publish before issuing a final regulation.

If the rules don't change, car manufacturers scrap to the stage and needed the new tones on all models as of 2018. (Some manufacturers already provide a noise-making feature, but mostly allow drivers to close the sounds, if you can find them unattractive)

NHTSA expects the proposal, approximately 23 million $ in the first year costs and estimates the more per vehicle costs $35. But automakers say that the cost of the components could be estimated five times as high as NHTSA. But still not the automakers appreciated, how much it could cost to their constant whining to replicate.

Yet automakers followed when communicating with the Government, that no cars can currently meet the requirements. Automakers are considering to make an adaptation of an existing alarm sound control module the necessary sounds. Automakers should the rules for speeds of 12.4 miles per hour or less shall apply while NHTSA proposed the rules apply to speeds up to 18.6 miles per hour. Automakers argue that warnings about 12.4 miles per hour is interfering with tire noise.

The sound should be audible sounds in a range of road and background, when the vehicle at low speeds on the road.

Want a new meeting with NHTSA talk car manufacturers about ways to the US regulations to harmonize with those in Japan and the European Union. The producers note that require continuous noise at low speeds or when stopped at a red light in conflict would stand with what Japan and the European Union plan. Regulators there have called this proposal "unacceptable due to noise pollution worry."

Copyright © 2009-2013, the Detroit Bureau

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Fuel efficiency rules will nearly double by 2025

By NBC News staff and wire reports
Fuel efficiency of U.S. cars and light trucks will nearly double by 2025 under a standard finalized by the Obama administration Tuesday.

New American vehicles will need to get an average 54.5 miles per gallon under the updated Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards that aim to save consumers money at the fuel pump and cut dependency on foreign oil imports.

The rule, strongly opposed by Republicans and some automakers, builds on the standard for vehicles for model years 2011-2016, which requires automakers to raise average fuel efficiency to 35.5 mpg. For decades, the standard was about 21 mpg for cars and light trucks combined.

The new standard is the result of over a year of negotiations among the administration, automakers and environmental groups.

"These fuel standards represent the single most important step we've ever taken to reduce our dependence on foreign oil," President Barack Obama said in a statement.

The new fuel efficiency standards will save consumers $1.7 trillion in gasoline costs and reduce U.S. oil consumption by 12 billion barrels over the period, according to the White House.

Obama initially proposed the standard in July 2011 with the support of automakers, including Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, BMW and Honda, as well as the United Auto Workers union.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has opposed the standards, and his campaign Tuesday called them extreme and said they would drive up the price of new cars. Any savings at the pump would be wiped out by rising costs of cars, the campaign said.

"Governor Romney opposes the extreme standards that President Obama has imposed, which will limit the choices available to American families," said Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul in a statement to NBC News.

"The president tells voters that his regulations will save them thousands of dollars at the pump, but always forgets to mention that the savings will be wiped out by having to pay thousands of dollars more upfront for unproven technology that they may not even want," she added.

The standard is based on one set by California, which played an "integral" role in developing the national program, according to the White House.

Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have been critical of the administration's tactics in developing the rule and of California's role in shaping the standards.

They released a report this month that said the fuel economy standards were based on an "overly optimistic" view that Americans were willing to buy hybrid or electric cars.

The Obama administration has made fuel efficiency a signature environmental and energy priority since cars and trucks account for 20 percent of carbon emissions and more than 40 percent of U.S. oil consumption.

The implementation of the new standard is one of the biggest actions ever taken to reduce U.S. oil use and a huge step on the path toward halving the country’s projected consumption within 20 years, the Union of Concerned Scientists said.

“This is truly a watershed moment. Twenty years from now we’ll be looking back on this as the day we chose innovation over stagnation,” said Michelle Robinson, director of the group's clean vehicles program. “These standards will protect consumers from high gas prices, curb global warming pollution, cut our oil use, and create new jobs in the American auto industry and around the nation.”

A recent poll from the Consumer Federation of America found that 74 percent of Americans support the new standards. Most respondents also said they want higher fuel economy in their next vehicle purchase.

“If you are against these common-sense standards, you are against saving consumers money, against consumer choice, and for leaving our economy open to being crippled yet again by our expensive oil use,” said Robinson.

Automakers are already producing cleaner, more efficient vehicles that meet the standards.

“Everybody is a winner today," said Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group.

“Motorists win because they will have much more fuel-efficient cars to drive, thus saving thousands of dollars at the gas pump every year," Beinecke said. "The auto industry — and its workers -- win because these standards will spur the creation of thousands of new jobs as well as state-of-the-art vehicles that go nearly twice as far on the same gallon of gasoline."

Under the complex CAFE regulations, automakers can have get credit for selling natural gas-powered and electric vehicles, changing to more environmentally safe air conditioning fluid and even for placing louvers on car grilles to improve aerodynamics. They won't have to improve pickup truck mileage much for the first few years, but big improvements will be required after 2020.

Automakers have been adding technology to boost gas mileage, mainly because people want to spend less on gasoline, which currently averages about $3.75 per gallon. Research firm J.D. Power and Associates says fuel economy is the top factor people consider when buying a car in the U.S.

CAFE requirements were first imposed in the 1970s in response to foreign oil embargoes, and the administration says this is the first update in decades.

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New rules require to much higher fuel pump economy

President Barack Obama, announced with the support of the major auto manufacturers a plan Friday to increase average fuel economy of new cars and trucks on 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, nearly double currents.

"This agreement on fuel standards is the most important single step we ever as the nation took, to reduce our dependence on foreign oil" Obama said at a Washington event with top automaker executives and labor leaders.

The new standards are the result of a compromise with the industry, after the White House would have originally proposed even higher requirements, the corporate average fuel economy, or Cafe, standard to 62 mpg.

The plan announced Friday calls for a fleet-wide average 54.5 mpg-- for cars higher or lower for "light trucks," a category that includes pickups and sport utility vehicles.

The fleet standard put on 27.5 two decades it under the Obama administration raised the increase, set model of 30.2 this year to 35.5 mpg in 2016. An additional annual improvement from 5 percent in the fuel consumption the new rules would require car from 2017 through 2025. For light commercial vehicles of the standard would increase 3.5 percent a year 2021 from 2017 and 5 per cent per year from 2021 to 2025.

The White House said that the new rules sold have won the support of the automaker 90 percent of the vehicles in the United States.

The compromise was a bit surprised and looked unlikely that even a few days, according to the TheDetroitBureau.com. According to David Strickland, head of the national highway traffic safety initial administration, not important parties the last language until almost midnight Thursday.

Some automakers and analysts have warned that the technology, the new standards required thousands of dollars costs for a typical new car Add. But the White House says, the savings at the pump, balanced by it is said that $8,000 up to 2025 would average during the lifetime of a vehicle.

The White House figures based rising gas prices a modest 13% from 2015 to 2025 and is powered vehicles, average 15,000 a year.

"We share the management aim of the great advances in vehicles the clean, fuel-efficient," said Toyota's Jim Lentz. "Obviously, there is still much uncertain, as the market is reacting and what vehicle technologies will include consumers, which is why we roll out and test a number of alternative fuel options."

An environmental group welcomed the new standards, but said that she could have even more.

The group, the American Council for an energy efficient economy, it pointed out that actual miles achieved by cars and light commercial vehicles in the 2020s are much lower than the published CAFE standards, which are based on laboratory tests instead of real street performance.

"This is an important step in reducing our dependence on oil and consumer sensitivity to high gasoline costs," said Therese Langer, transportation program director for the ACEEE. "By the year 2030, this could import stored currently combined round standards more oil than we Saudi Arabia and Iraq,."

But she added that the announced standards "could be undermined Rulemaking it", before they are completed. A notice of the proposed Rulemaking be published by end of September, opening a public comment period, federal officials said.

"The next few months to ensure that the benefits, which promises this program implemented are crucial," said Langer.

© 2011 msnbc.com reprints

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