Quote:
Originally Posted by Xist
The commenter I quoted said that the fuel economy target depended on the vehicle platform; full-sized pickups are not held to the same standard as subcompacts. Is this not true?
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There are tiers of MPG expectations based on vehicle mass. For many years, heavy pickups in the 1000 and 2000 pound segment had no MPG numbers because their use implied those numbers would be varied. However, more and more soccer moms are purchasing such vehicles to . . . do whatever soccer moms do. The Sport Utility Segment was designed to fill this niche but you can increasingly see pristine 4x4 heavy payload pickups loaded up to do family transport. This points out the problem vehicle manufacturers have with the 2025 54.5 MPG mandate. They would rather sell large, profitable vehicles to said soccer mom than tiny, low profit economy vehicles. But, the mandate is pressing the manufacturers to make these economy vehicles.
Ford is an example of a manufacturer that is heavily invested in trucks as they lead the Big Three in truck sales. They will have to balance out the volume of sales of trucks with something that gets much better fuel mileage. The trucks and SUVs are not necessarily held to a lower standard, they just are inherently less fuel efficient and so must be balanced out by more fuel efficient models. What the manufacturers are griping about is the fact that they will be forced to build vehicles the public may not want. They will be burdened with the responsibility of social change. For every 25 MPG Ford F150 they sell, they will have to build and sell a vehicle that can get 75+ MPG. The California requirements are not as impossible as that sounds as there are credits for electric only vehicles that exceed the 1:1 balance. I forget that ratio, but it behooves manufacturers to sell some electric vehicles.
This hints at how a manufacturer could meet Federal requirements. Build and sell a mix of conventional, hybrid and electric vehicles and you can meet the 54.5 MPG mandate. The problem is that if States dictate what they want to see sold in their jurisdiction, it forces manufacturers into custom builds that will be expensive. We absolutely need a Federal Mandate, and not a hodge podge affair.
Electric sales should be higher in urban centers and all along the Sunbelt. Hybrids thrive anywhere. Light duty trucks will serve the farm and industry. Big, heavy payload pickups should be kept out of soccer moms possession, but even if they aren't, the mix of vehicle sales can meet the 54.5 MPG average. The problem is the timeline. Can they do it by 2025? I think it can be done by crediting all electric vehicle sales with a greater weight in the equation. An all electric pickup would be a game changer as would a strong hybrid pickup. This is not as impossible as they ( the manufacturers ) are making it out to be.