Auto manufacturers have been required to meet overall efficiency standards for their fleets. More realistic CAFE ratings may translate into fewer of the more popular but less fuel-efficient models on showroom floors next year.
"The Environmental Protection Agency will propose new methods of calculating and estimating gasoline mileage sometime next month, with a goal of putting them into place in time for next fall's 2007 model introductions."
"Officials at the EPA, which has used the current standards since 1985, agree that changes need to be made but warn that shifting to updated methods likely will mean a substantial lowering of fuel mileage estimates for many vehicles".
"...Companies will be forced to build smaller cars and move away from larger ones," said Jack Nerad, a Kelley Blue Book analyst. "Over the course of time, car companies have essentially subsidized their economy vehicles to make sure that their fleets meet what are known as CAFE standards, or Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency standards for their entire lineup", Nerad said. "They kind of artificially lowered the prices of... economy cars."
Thanks to Preston Schiller
Read the full story: ENERGY: Car fuel mileage will be refigured; Goal is to be more realistic
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Houston gains petal-shaped cooling infrastructure to make streets more ‘delightful’
The city has installed the pavilions along 15 blocks in Houston.
After years of opposition to light rail, this L.A. city wants a $200 million station
Cerritos officials want the Southeast Gateway Line, a planned 14.5-mile light rail route through Los Angeles County, to stop in their city.
SpaceXAI may be fined $6 million for data center lacking water permits
A Mississippi agency also responds after a federal judge criticized the state’s Clean Air Act enforcement.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority