Canada wants North American fuel efficiency standard
Canada's Environment Minister Jim Prentice believes that there should be a single fuel efficiency standard for all countries in North America. He says, "At this point in the United States, it would appear as though they are headed toward a 35 mile a gallon standard by 2020 and that would start to come into effect in the 2011 model year. We've essentially been prepared to go in that same direction."
That 35 mpg standard is good enough for Canada if it's good enough for the United States, right? It makes sense for automakers that sell their products across all of North America, especially to the U.S. domestic manufacturers that build hundreds of thousands of cars in Canada and Mexico each year.
It's not perfect, though, as California is moving to create its own fuel economy standards under the guise of greenhouse gas emissions regulations. "The first thing that has to happen, however, is that the United States has to land with their own domestic policy. It's by no means clear how this will emerge from Congress over the course of the next year," Prentice said.
[Source: Reuters | Image: AlexCovarrubias C.C. 2.5]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mark 5:01PM (3/04/2009)
35 miles per gallon is low, when you think of how long we've been using combustion engines. Everything else in the car has evolved at a fast rate, but miles per gallon has lagged.
I'd say, the standard should be 50+ miles per gallon.
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Paul 5:09PM (3/04/2009)
And that's exactly what you can have... assuming you're ok with cars that go 0-60 in 30 seconds, have no safety features, can't tow anything, and cost $50,000 for the cheapest one.
If you're willing to go with THAT car, and so was every other American, we could make the transition to 50mpg cars today!
Luckily, people that understand the limit of how much energy is actually stored in a gallon of gasoline, and the fact that there is, simply put, a real, laws-of-physics ceiling on gas mileage vs. horsepower are the ones making the rules.
Not you.
Brn 5:53PM (3/04/2009)
+1 for Paul
People generally don't understand that the power/fuel ratio on automobiles has improved quite a bit in the last 20 years. There are other variables keeping the MPG down.
GoodCheer 7:25PM (3/04/2009)
Hahaha, that's ridiculous, nobody could ever build a car that gets that kind of mileage
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partnership_for_a_New_Generation_of_Vehicles
It simply defies the laws of physics to think that you could get 50mpg from a car that meets today's safety standards while delivering acceptable performance and seating 5 people
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/03/02/prius-2010-detail-overload-will-get-49-mpg-highway-rating-100/
And since the fraction of vehicles that tow things is so high... probably OVER 3% ..., no vehicles should be expected to sell unless then can tow at least 5000 pounds.
Brn 10:20AM (3/05/2009)
Goodcheer, this discussion was about ICE.
Krish 6:21PM (3/04/2009)
What Paul says is exactly what the US automakers would like to have you believe while at the same time they sell cars in Europe that get alteast 40+ mpg. It is definitely a challenge and requires considerable out of the box thinking but it is achievable. What we currently dont have is the economic incentive for people to buy these cars. If gas prices are taxed sufficiently so that prices never drop below $4 a gallon then cars will naturally be built that fetch over 50 mpg. The Congress however does not have the courage to increase gas taxes and instead want to pretend they are doing something by mandating these standards
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stas peterson 6:29PM (3/04/2009)
Mark ,
Thsoe who know no histroy are condemned ot erepaet it,according to Sanayana. Do you know waht the CAFE rating for the 1973 VW bug was. A true subcompact, it had a 42 hp motor an achieved al of 16 mpg combined. It was one of the most fuel efficient cars for sale, in America.
Some dowgrading of mileage ratings by about 22% for an EPA window sticker over the CAFE measure that meant the Bug would be listed as a 12 mpg combined EPA srticker. Can you find a Suburban SUV with that poor a rating?
Please don't say stupid things llike eficiency gains have been minimal. They have been quite large, over the past 35 years. More will come but the end of ICE improvement is visible, at about 35-40 percent better. Then a new technology must be utilized and it is coming.
The Electrification of Ground Transport will substitute for Petroleum in a ratio of ten times or 1000% or so. The begining of such vehicles is but 18 months away.
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Joe 6:04PM (3/04/2009)
The idea of letting each state set its own standard is horrible. The standards would keep changing as one state tried to one-up another. It would be impossible to build legal cars. The MPG standard should be set nationally, and it makes sense to include Canada and even Mexico in that standard as well since its more-or-less the same vehicles being sold in all three places.
Also a fleet average of 50mpg out of gasoline power is never going to happen. MPGe, maybe. It's just too hard to efficiently extract energy from gasoline. The best short-term solution is ER-EVs running on gas and diesel. Battery technology will improve on these vehicles, as well as on BEVs purchased by early adopters. Eventually the Electric-only range will grow significantly to the point where the ICE is only rarely needed for long trips. At this point BEVs will hold a larger market share, with people doing almost all commuting in BEVs. This, assuming the charging infrastructure has grown as well.
Well. That wandered off topic. But yes. This sounds like a good idea.
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paulwesterberg 6:38PM (3/04/2009)
The Energy Independence and Security Act ALREADY set US national fuel economy standard of 35 miles per gallon by 2020 when it was signed into law by bush on December 19, 2007.
What does Canada really want? They want us to keep doing the same old same old thing, making minor improvements for the next 10 years while they get rich selling us their dirty tar sands to fill up our tanks.
Once I have an electric care I will buy my wind energy from Iowa. Canada can bite it.
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smog 7:36PM (3/04/2009)
paulwesterberg:
no problem, Eastern Canada will sell you clean hydro/wind power during the day and buy your surplus dirty power by night shutting off the vanes and use the reservoirs as batteries for your excess nuclear/coal power you have to dump at night.
we've been doing it for years making A LOT of money from you.
and by the way PAUL, any modern and safe VW diesel will do 50mpg, tow your fishing boat/jetskis, cost around 20K$ and do sub 10s 0-60mph. ask a chip tuner to limit the fueling rate and you can squeeze more than 60mpg out of a 3200 pounds car
why not the LS2LS7? 1:08AM (3/05/2009)
smog:
The US seems to have about 200 times as much pumped-storage hydroelectric capacity as Canada does.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumped_storage_hydroelectricity
fahita 3:22AM (3/08/2009)
whats your beef, man?
Chris 11:37AM (3/05/2009)
When is MPG not MPG? Jim Prentice's suggestion is interesting, and potentially confusing. How many people realize that Canada uses the Imperial gallon, not the US gallon? US gallon = 128 fluid ounces, Imperial gallon = 160 fluid ounces; the ounce is the same volume...
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mike 8:41AM (3/05/2009)
Canda is right.
It would be great if all modern nations agreed on a single set of environmental regulations so that cars could be built for all markets.
It would lower costs for everyone and streamline the ability to innovate by manufacturers.
- mike
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mike!!ekiM 7:05PM (3/05/2009)
Except that the Conservative Canadian government, being bought out by big oil, has no intention of keeping up with US fuel consumption improvements.
This is just like CAFTA, where Canada and Mexico drag down US labor standards.
Mike, don't be a sucker for this "deal".
smog 8:35PM (3/05/2009)
"The US seems to have about 200 times as much pumped-storage hydroelectric capacity as Canada does."
we are smarter than that; we use YOUR excess electricity at night so we just stop the turbines on hydro dams. We don't even have to pump up the water.... we just stop using it.
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