Floating Nation Party Ideology

The National Program for greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and fuel economy standards was developed jointly by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and applies to light duty cars and trucks.

Together the final standards are projected to result in an average industry fleetwide level of 163 grams/mile of carbon dioxide (CO2) in model year 2025, which is equivalent to 54.5 miles per gallon (mpg) if achieved exclusively through fuel economy improvements. The program is projected to:

Cut 6 billion metric tons of GHG over the lifetimes of the vehicles sold in model years 2012-2025.

Save families more than $1.7 trillion in fuel costs

Reduce America’s dependence on oil by more than 2 million barrels per day in 2025.

The average fuel economy for new passenger car in the United States rose from 17 mpg in 1978 to more than 22 mpg in 1982. The average fuel economy in 2008 for new cars, light trucks and SUVs in the United States was 26.4 mpg_US (8.9 L/100 km). 2008 model year cars classified as "midsize" by the US EPA ranged from 11 to 46 mpg_US(21 to 5 L/100 km) However, due to environmental concerns caused by CO₂ emissions, new EU regulations are being introduced to reduce the average emissions of cars sold beginning in 2012, to 130 g/km of CO₂, equivalent to 4.5 L/100 km (52 mpg_US, 63 mpg_imp) for a diesel-fueled car, and 5.0 L/100 km (47 mpg_US, 56 mpg_imp) for a gasoline (petrol)-fueled car.

Fuel economy at steady speeds with selected vehicles was studied in 2010. The most recent study indicates greater fuel efficiency at higher speeds than earlier studies; for example, some vehicles achieve better fuel economy at 100 km/h (62 mph) rather than at 70 km/h (43 mph), although not their best economy, such as the 1994 Oldsmobile Cutlass, which has its best economy at 90 kilometres per hour (56 mph) (8.1 L/100 km (29 mpg_-US)), and gets 2 mpg better economy at 105 km/h (65 mph) than at 72 km/h (45 mph) (9.4 L/100 km (25 mpg_-US) vs 22 mpg_-US (11 L/100 km)).

In parts of Europe, the two standard measuring cycles for "litre/100 km" value are "urban" traffic with speeds up to 50 km/h from a cold start, and then "extra urban" travel at various speeds up to 120 km/h which follows the urban test. A combined figure is also quoted showing the total fuel consumed in divided by the total distance traveled in both tests. A reasonably modern European supermini and many mid-size cars, including station wagons, may manage motorway travel at 5 L/100 km (47 mpg US/56 mpg imp) or 6.5 L/100 km in city traffic (36 mpg US/43 mpg imp), with carbon dioxide emissions of around 140 g/km.

An average North American mid-size car travels 21 mpg (US) (11 L/100 km) city, 27 mpg (US) (9 L/100 km) highway; a full-size SUV usually travels 13 mpg (US) (18 L/100 km) city and 16 mpg (US) (15 L/100 km) highway. Pickup trucks vary considerably; whereas a 4 cylinder-engined light pickup can achieve 28 mpg (8 L/100 km), aV8 full-size pickup with extended cabin only travels 13 mpg (US) (18 L/100 km) city and 15 mpg (US) (15 L/100 km) highway.