Just a Bill: Senate to Raise Fuel Efficiency to 35 mpg

The U.S. Senate passed a bill after two days of negotiations that will raise the average fuel economy of cars, SUVs and pickups to 35 mpg by the year 2020. Currently, automakers are held to a 28-year-old regulation of 22.7 mpg.

There’s a lot more involved in the bill than just the fuel economy provision, but that’s what will get the most attention. Raising the mpg 40 percent in 13 years after 27 years of little improvement will certainly send automakers into a frenzy. Recently, consumer tastes have already spurred most companies to focus on efficiency; yesterday Chrysler introduced a new family of V-6 engines that would see around a 5 percent gain in fuel economy.

To raise fuel efficiency this drastically in 13 years, especially in SUVs and trucks, expect more hybrid powertrains and, therefore, higher car prices. Other possibilities to raise the numbers would be more small cars with smaller engines to offset truck and SUV sales.

To put things in perspective, 13 years ago a 1994 Ford Mustang V-8 engine produced 215 hp and got 15/23 mpg. The 2007 V-8 Mustang makes 300 hp and 15/22 mpg. If one company can increase horsepower by 40 percent in 13 years, maybe they can do the same for fuel efficiency.

Senate Passes Energy Bill, Boosting Mileage Standards (CNN.com)