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Originally Posted by redpoint5
Regarding the OP, I consider 22 MPG for the Camry/driver to be unacceptable unless the commute is very short. We still don't know what the driving environment is like, so our comments are mere speculation.
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I suspect the OP has a city commute. If that is the case then 22 mpg is about right. If that is highway mpg then something is very wrong with the car or the driver's foot.
Quote:
Originally Posted by redpoint5
I'm not discounting the effect of the pressure CAFE exerts, but I'm also not discounting the other factors contributing to the improvements. While I'm generally not in favor of government regulation, CAFE is among the best way I could ever conceive of artificially influencing fuel efficiency averages. The best way is to simply increase the federal taxes collected on every gallon of fuel, and then reduce income tax in proportion.
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Increasing the gas tax would be the most direct and effective way to reduce fuel consumption. It would also be a very unpopular way to do it which is why politicians chose the much more convoluted way of doing it through CAFE.
The recent drop in fuel prices would have been a fantastic time to put a floor on fuel prices by increasing the gas tax.
Quote:
Originally Posted by redpoint5
Like everything, fuel economy improvements are subject to diminishing returns. Boneheads regulators think they can look at a rate of improvement and extrapolate that out into the future like magic. Every doubling of fuel economy saves much less fuel than the previous doubling.
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Yes, everything is subject to diminishing returns but we are nowhere near that place with fuel economy. Regulators are far from boneheads. CAFE targets are set in 7 year blocks and progress is reviewed periodically. In 2016 the EPA found that automakers were ahead of schedule but left the future targets the same. By 2025 a F150 will need to get 23 mpg combined. Today trucks are getting 22 mpg so 1 mpg in 7 years doesn't seem like a very lofty goal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by redpoint5
I'm all for improvements in efficiency, and current averages are a joke, but there are already fantastic vehicles out there that get great fuel economy. The Ford Fusion hybrid gets 45 MPG easily, and doesn't suck.
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The Fusion Hybrid does get good mileage and is very reasonably priced at about $25k. I've had several as rental cars and they drive well. It is a perfect example of how to easily hit future fuel economy goals using current technology. Why isn't the Hybrid the standard model instead of 2.5L 4 cylinder that only get 25 mpg?
Pretty much every automaker has a similar vehicle:
52 mpg Toyota Camry Hybrid
48 mpg Honda Accord Hybrid
46 mpg Chevy Malibu Hybrid
42 mpg Ford Fusion Hybrid
41 mpg Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
The question then is if a Honda Accord can get 48 mpg why does a Honda CR-V only manage 30mpg. The Ford Escape is only rated at 26 mpg. This is low hanging fruit. These should be in the mid 30's and they will be soon.