NEW FUEL-ECONOMY STANDARDS?

In 1975, in response to the first OPEC oil shock, Congress enacted fuel-economy standards for new cars sold in the U.S. Vehicle producers-- domestic and foreign-- were required to achieve a minimum Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) performance of 27.5 miles per gallon (an average of a manufacturer's entire new-car fleet) by the 1985 model year. Congress chose this regulatory strategy instead of economic incentives in part because it was committed--rightly or wrongly--to price controls to cushion consumers from rising oil prices. Despite the desire to reduce our country's reliance on foreign oil, the view of this article is that CAFE is not a sound energy-conservation policy. Issues such as decreased safety in lighter vehicles are discussed.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/10473572
• Corporate Authors:

  American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research

  1150 17th Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20036
• Authors:
  • Crandall, R W
  • Graham, J D
• Publication Date: 1991-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 68-69
• Serial:
  • American Enterprise
  • Volume: 2
  • Issue Number: 314
  • Publisher: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
  • ISSN: 1047-3572

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Fuel conservation; Fuels; Light vehicles; Prices; Vehicle range
• Uncontrolled Terms: Fuel prices
• Subject Areas: Energy; Highways; Vehicles and Equipment; I90: Vehicles;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00728965
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 2 1996 12:00AM