U.S. Last in Fuel Economy Standards

The United States is once again below the curve in environmental grades, this time ranking dead last in vehicle fuel-economy standards for industrialized nations, according to a report from the International Council on Clean Transportation. 

But the report also shows that the America would jump up on the list if legislation under consideration by Congress were passed into law, according to Reuters, who obtained a copy of the report. 

Fuel efficiency requirements for U.S. passenger cars have not changed since 1985, but the legislation currently under review, which the Senate passed earlier this year, would raise the requirement from 27.5 miles per gallon to 35 by 2020.

The increased fuel economy would help the United States surpass Canada, Australia, and South Korea in vehicle fuel standards, according to the ICCT, a coalition of transportation and air-quality experts from around the world that promote more fuel-efficient vehicles.    

Or, if the United States wanted to jump to the top of the list, it could mandate a switch to the Toyota Prius, which the Swiss just deemed the greenest car on the planet.  The change would drastically reduce C02 emissions, no doubt, and likely cut our dependency on foreign oil, but who would balance out the curve?   

Comments

[Jon]

Why should congress *cough* I mean "WE" give auto makers until 2020 to raise the bar when the vehicles and technology exists today? I have been driving vehicles all my life that get better then 35mpg! My current car gets 50. In Europe, you would be hard pressed to find anything that does worse then what they are proposing for 13 years from now. You would think that technology would be a bit further ahead?

So really. The US automakers should stop with the excuses and stop hosing consumers while abusing the system (ie. creating flex-fuel vehicles to green the fleets).

What ever happened to the USA being a leader and innovator? I suppose it was lost to gluttony.