New mileage standards show that gas is here to stay

WASHINGTON/DETROIT - car manufacturers have agreed to produce the fuel - efficient cars and trucks at all, the use of the new design and technology, through the quarter-century mark, but still strongly rely on gasoline engines.

A blueprint on Friday by President Barack Obama announced boost 53 percent would fuel economy requirements by the year 2025. This goal is unlikely, as some take we a dramatic ramp up to ask, in production of electric cars and hybrids, which are only a fraction of the US market for sale.

"Car manufacturers meet the standards be by improving the technology on the road today," said Brendan Bell of the clean vehicles program at the Union of concerned scientists.

Bell, automakers and other experts say industry speeds up development of gas engines burn cleaner, improved transmission systems, lighter materials - such as stronger steel and alloys - and more aerodynamic design.

These changes are already is instead, like a shift towards the production of small cars consumer demand and new Government in a time of high gas prices to meet.

In particular work U.S. automakers, led by Ford Motor Co, feverishly on these changes after long Heilkundigen on gas-guzzling trucks, SUVs and vans. Large trucks, including full size pickups have the hardest time meeting the new targets.

"Detroit three have finally really discovered and fuel consumption and it is a real focus for them", said Chief Executive Tim Manganello BorgWarner Inc. analysts.

Manganello, whose undertaking makes noted, turbocharger and other engine technologies, that is always better fuel consumption, no doubt automakers at a higher cost.

The setting for the Obama announcement at the Washington Convention Center include a General Motors co. Chevrolet Cruze, a 4-cylinder compact, which top-selling car is the resurgence of U.S. based automaker. Not present, GM was mainly electric Volt sedan, a production promote new GM Washington fuel consumption on their efforts closely.

Obama is especially interested in more electric production and development of improved battery technology in an initiative of green jobs and a bid to reduce oil.

Environmentalists warn of possible gaps that are possible could distort the new fuel standards programme from the most efficient fleet. But overall industry has faithfully and believe improvements efforts so far on fuel savings focus.

The focus was not too many of the features of that you want drivers in their cars and help U.S. to sell them as engine performance, ease of use, hold, and extras such as driver support, enable services and systems, the mobile phone compatibility and GPS.

The strategy is built around a series of progress, of which some as a "low-hanging fruit," that alone provide incremental gains can be described, but as a whole can be game changer.

"You eat that elephant one bite at a time," said Vince Muniga, a product spokesman for Chrysler.

GM has 4-cylinder Cruze and the Volt and Ford Motor Co features Ecoboost technology - a combination of fuel injection and turbocharging the smaller gasoline engines more power and better efficiency. The popular F-150 pickup truck equipped with Ecoboost event was rolled into the Convention Center on Friday for the Obama.

Automobile manufacturers and suppliers also hundreds of millions of dollars investing in transmissions with additional gears, the RPMs to productivity reduce engine more efficiently designed.

Chrysler, which is run by the Italian Fiat, is the use of this technology in upcoming editions of the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger.

Jake Fisher, a senior engineer with consumer reports auto test Department, said, there are more high-strength steel and other metals and materials, which are easier but offer good stability and crash-protection - although they can be more expensive.

Aluminium, which big car is very expensive for construction, can its way into suspension systems and other components reduce weight find. The role of composite materials, such as carbon-fiber materials used in the aircraft and other industries in more is less clear.

Overseas automakers, like Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co, continues with signature hybrids. Ford has also notably pushed with its hybrid production. European automobile manufacturers such as Volkswagen AG want to press several clean diesel in the American market.

Boston Consulting Group in June plug - in hybrids estimated and up to 5 percent or less U.S. sales could be other electric cars by 2020. The prognosis is to oil price increases and improvements in engines, to lower costs are tied.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters.

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Battle brewing on fuel economy standards

The White House is looking for a way to compromise, on future fuel economy increases, but it remains to be seen whether proposed new regulation of miles on both sides of the debate shall be fulfilled.

The Obama administration is hinting, that it requires automakers produce fleets of cars and trucks to get average 56.2 miles per gallon by the year 2025. One would represent almost a 60 percent increase over the 35.5 mpg mandate in place for 2016. But the bottom line, what a year, still much lower than he environmental protection agency originally pulls the 62 mpg number, which, considering an increase of 5%.

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An even greater increase in the standards advocates say fuel consumption that the compromise figure would not do enough to reduce global warming or reduce America's dependence on foreign oil.

But some industry representatives and others say that costs might cause even the 56.2 mpg standard, in which more than carry the public leading to declines in new car sales and the loss of thousands of jobs can, auto sharp. You have proposed 47 mpg, a standard perhaps, which would be an annual increase of 3% more than a decade.

"Overly ambitious benchmarks set 14 years in the future risk serious economic damage, if consumers want and needs not met," Bailey said wood, a spokesman for the National Automobile Dealers Association.

The corporate average fuel economy, or CAFE standards were controversial, since they were made law in 1975 after the first Middle East oil. Opponents of the standards by the rules for two decades, with only the most modest increases to the Obama management starting a boost able, effectively freezing 2012 model year 2016 negotiated.

Sporadic certain run up in oil prices over the past two years and growing concern about global warming, fuel the supporters of the Government mandated standards now they feel have to achieve momentum the largest mileage increases, because rules have been passed the original more than three decades ago.

Sure, would like to, that consumers improved fuel economy. Translation is reflected in the market smaller cars and smaller drives. But growing frustration with the Government and the public debate about global warming have more difficult to sell the original 62 mpg target, as some had initially expected.

Also complicated questions: Americans are worried about jobs and a study issued this month by the center of automotive research serious questions about the costs and benefits of pressure fuel consumption too far, too quickly raised.

The risk "is Ernst,", says the car study, which said that the higher standards the price of a typical car sold in the United States of about $9,000 and boost could at the same time new car sales of up to 5.5 million units per year, removing potentially more than 265,000 us jobs.

Advocates CAFE standards complains issued by the Boston Consulting Group pointing the car report as "Propaganda", instead to another study, on the same day as the auto report.

The Boston Consulting Group is far less negative about the projected sharp increase in the mileage. It would be "much cheaper than expected," said Boston Consulting Group analyst Xavier Mosquet, estimated the average cost at $2,000 per vehicle. Which, he claimed, would be paid easily by fuel savings, especially if gas prices continue, expect as many.

Why such a discrepancy between the two projections? There are many assumptions that are going forecasts more than a decade--as well as the types of technology, to adapt that may be available to meet those needs in which consumer demand.

Industry leaders will shrink as global head of product development Derrick Kuzak, Ford say that drivers be forced not only clearly such, but they will get probably also no longer today popular that capable of the kind of drives. The industry is probably forced to replace V8, V6s and even smaller 4-cylinder engines with battery-based technologies, which could affect performance, range and payload.

On the other hand, proponents of the substantial number of conventional vehicles, which already provide show CAFE 40 mpg on the highway without use of hybrid technologies that could bring even more savings. The Boston Consulting study, on the one hand sees tremendous opportunities with direct injection, turbocharging and advanced transmission systems.

The Administration backed down on the previous 62 mpg standard inserted, was the new Republican-majority House in January. But the question of the fuel economy is less partisan than some may think.

Liberal Senator Carl Levin, D Michigan, such a page by the industry, saying that even the reduced 56 mpg target is too high. On the other hand, a group of 15 prominent Republicans, including former Governors, members of Congress and EPA administrators, the White House last week at the full wrote back 62 mpg target.

With consumers so worried about fuel prices there are only a few, who expect that the CAFE debate is put back on the back burner. It is unclear whether the new proposal is the point at which the White House expects to start collective bargaining with the automotive industry, or if it looks 56 mpg than the compromise it is prepared to settle as.

Administration representatives have officials from the automotive industry, Capitol Hill leaders allegedly and others meet in the last few days with has been hoping to take the political temperature.

White House "has made no decision, but our goal remains, [a revised mileage] to propose rule this September," said spokesman Matt teaching I.

© 2011 msnbc.com.  Reprints

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