Higher fuel economy standards would apply to sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks and minivans including some of the biggest SUVs for the first time. Environmentalists say new standards are too modest.
"The Transportation Department announced new fuel economy standards Wednesday for sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks and minivans that will make some of them go farther on a gallon of gasoline than the average car does, and will apply to many of the biggest S.U.V.'s for the first time.
But the overall fuel savings, 8.1 percent when the rule is fully phased in, were characterized as too modest by many conservation advocates, who also noted that the biggest pick-up trucks will still be unregulated...
The rule does not cover heavy pickup trucks, like the Ford F-250, on the theory that those are used mostly in agriculture or business. While many of the vehicles covered under the new rule are used primarily for personal transportation, often with a single person inside, Mr. Mineta said that the people...of the nation understood how important light trucks were 'to maintaining our way of life.'"
FULL STORY: U.S. Raises Standards on Mileage
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
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