- The president details "the first-ever national policy to increase fuel efficiency and decrease greenhouse gas pollution from medium-and heavy-duty trucks."
- Larger vehicles, exempt from current light-duty CAFE and emissions standards, will have to get up to 20 percent better fuel economy by 2018.
- The EPA and Department of Transportation, which jointly developed and will administer the program, say it will cost participants $8 billion, but will result in a net savings of nearly $50 billion.
WASHINGTON — President Obama on Tuesday announced the first-ever federal fuel-economy and emissions standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks, vans and buses, which are exempt from standards imposed on passenger cars and light-duty vehicles.
The new heavy-truck rules, which were jointly developed and will be administered by the EPA and the Department of Transportation, will require larger vehicles — everything from heavy-duty pickups used by farmers and construction crews to big buses and even garbage trucks — to get up to 20 percent better fuel economy as they are phased in between 2014 and 2018.
The White House said the new heavy-truck rules will cost participants as much as $8 billion in additional technology, but "will save American businesses that operate and own commercial vehicles approximately $50 billion in fuel costs over the life of the program."
Most fleet operators, according to the EPA, should recover their additional up-front costs within a year or two.
Under the new program, heavy-duty vehicles are divided into three major categories: combination tractors (semi-trucks), heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, and so-called "vocational" or special-purpose vehicles such as transit buses and garbage trucks. More specific targets within each of these categories are based on the design and purpose of each vehicle.
The White House said the new standards, which rely primarily on off-the-shelf technology, were developed by EPA and DOT "in coordination with truck and engine manufacturers, fleet owners, the State of California, environmental groups and other stakeholders."
Inside Line says: It's going to cost more to replace your big Ford dually — but Washington says you'll be able to earn that money back in reduced operating expenses.
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skyrocket says:
12:30 AM, 08/10/2011
Where's the land? It's all about location. And how much are you selling it for? I'm actually looking for land to buy.
angry_mushroom says:
08:06 PM, 08/09/2011
If gas keeps on getting more expensive (It probably will), than this plan just might work.
lardobo says:
07:50 PM, 08/09/2011
Hopefully this means we'll (finally!) see some light duty diesel pickups in the not-so-distant future. Not that I'm convinced that top-down mileage mandates actually do anything except encourage numbers fudging and give automakers an excuse to charge more money for less rig.
church123 says:
07:48 PM, 08/09/2011
Hey, let's raise costs on products and services some more (cause all these costs will be passed onto the end consumer). Perfect way to help out in a floundering economy.
And if you believe the gov't estimates about costs and benefits, I've got some land to sell you....