MPG
by Carly Wyatt
Misel Cruzado pulled into a Bellingham Shell station to fuel up his 1995 Mitsubishi Montero. It takes $32 to fill up his tank, which he does every three days. He commutes, but said he didn’t consider the fuel efficiency of his vehicle before purchasing the SUV. He liked the car and that was all that mattered, he said.
President George W. Bush recently proposed an increase of 1.5 miles per gallon in Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards for SUVs and light trucks. He also announced $1.2 billion for research on pollution-free vehicles, which he said would help the United States lessen its dependence on foreign oil while eliminating vehicle emissions that contribute to global warming.
In the 2003 State of the Union address, Bush said he wanted to promote energy independence for the country, while dramatically improving the environment. Two weeks prior, however, he had announced an increased tax break for small businesses that purchase large SUVs.
In 1975, Congress passed CAFE standards, requiring automakers to meet certain standards of fuel efficiency for their entire line of vehicles each year.
Environmental Protection Agency spokesperson Wayne Elson said the standards are currently set at 27.5 miles per gallon for cars and 20.7 mpg for light trucks. These standards have remained unchanged for nearly a decade.
The fuel economy standards were originally set at 18 mpg in 1975. In 1988, the average fuel economy of cars was 28.6 mpg. Since then, the average fuel economy of cars has dropped 2 percent.
According to the EPA’s annual statistics, 2003 model cars and trucks get worse gas mileage — 20.8 mpg — than last year’s models. This year’s rate was 6 percent below the peak efficiency of 22.1 mpg set 15 years ago.
"The numbers could be higher," Elson said. "What automakers believe consumers demand is what they will produce."
Today, SUVs are outselling cars in the Pacific Northwest said Tom Jordan, spokesman for Diehl Ford in Bellingham.
In 2002, Diehl Ford sold 335 trucks and SUVs compared to 98 cars, said Colleen Sutliff of Diehl Ford.
"Fuel efficiency has continued to go down as SUV sales go up," said Jim DiPeso, policy director for Republicans for Environmental Protection.
Northwest Environment Watch spokesperson Elisa Murray said SUVs emit a record amount of carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming.
Light trucks, SUVs and minivans consume about 25 percent more gas per mile and emit 30 percent more carbon monoxide than smaller cars. They also emit 30 percent more cancer-causing particles as well as nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons that cause respiratory illness, according to a report from Northwest Environmental Watch.
In December 2002, the Bush administration announced that CAFE standards for SUVs and light trucks would be raised by 1.5 mpg over the next five years while the standard for passenger cars would remain the same.
Due to the United States’ dependence on foreign oil, this increase is not enough, DiPeso said. The National Academy of Sciences stated that fuel economy could be 10 times better than what the administration proposed.
"One point five mpg is a very small increase and doesn’t apply to our biggest problem, vehicles over 6,000 pounds," said Michael Seal, director of the Vehicle Research Institute at Western Washington University.
United States automakers have found a way to avoid complying with CAFE standards by making SUVs so large that they qualify for lenient air pollution rules originally meant for farmers and businesses with large equipment. At the time, 6,000-pound luxury vehicles were unheard of, DiPeso said.
Luxury vehicles such as the Suburban, Ford Excursion and the Hummer are exempt from CAFE standards entirely.
On Jan. 9, 2003, Bush allowed the 6,000-pound SUVs to benefit from a large tax break. The amount small business owners can deduct from their taxes when purchasing an SUV. The tax deduction increased from $25,000 to $75,000.
With this increase, the entire cost of vehicles such as the 2003 Hummer H2 could be written off in one year. This encourages businesses to purchase SUVs rather than passenger cars, which are not eligible for the deduction. Hummers get 10 mpg. Other vehicles targeted by the tax break, such as the Lincoln Navigator, get 12 mpg, according to the Fuel Economy Guide of 2002.
"There is no excuse for that at all," DiPeso said.
On the other hand, fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles getting 61 mpg only qualify for a $2,000 tax break. According to the Sierra Club, this deduction is only allowed until 2003, when it will be reduced 25 percent a year until it is completely phased out. Upcoming hybrids such as the 2004 Ford Escape won’t get the full deduction.
On Jan. 28, 2003, Bush announced that the administration would spend $1.2 billion on research of hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicles to improve the environment and help the country become energy independent.
"The first car driven by a child born today could be powered by hydrogen, and pollution free," Bush said in his State of the Union.
Seal said he disagrees.
He argues that a lot of money has been spent on zero-emission research and producing hydrogen cells requires tremendous energy, making such vehicles impossible to get on the market. He said he believes the fuel-cell automobile is not going to happen.
"If we were half way there it would help, but we’re not," Seal said. "We’ve spent more than that already."
Although some environmental groups agree with the research funding by the administration, the need for short-term solutions remains.
"President Bush’s call for increased research on hydrogen-powered cars is a welcome step toward a balanced national energy policy," DiPeso said. "However, it will not do enough to reduce pollution, greenhouse gas emissions or Middle Eastern oil dependence unless other near-term and long-term measures are adopted."
Bush’s policies are a contradiction, Murray said.
Just two weeks after announcing the SUV write-off Bush said a hydrogen-powered car would make the country much less dependent on foreign sources of energy.
It’s uncertain, though, if people will buy fuel-efficient cars.
"Less than 50 percent (of customers) are concerned with fuel efficiency," Jordan said. "Their buying decision is not affected, nor are they concerned with the numbers."
