SENATE INTRODUCES SUV CAFE BILL

SENATE INTRODUCES SUV CAFE BILL

By Contributing Editor

From TheCarConnection.com: Two U.S. senators have introduced a bill that if approved, would make SUVs and trucks get the same average fuel economy as passenger cars — but Beltway insiders give the proposed legislation little chance of making it on the books. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Sen. Olympia Snowe (R.-Maine) would increase the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) bogey for light trucks to 27.5 mpg – the same level it’s been at for passenger cars since the mid-1970s. Reuters reports that the bill’s chances aren’t very good, given the wrangling over the current energy bill and the presence of a Republican majority in both houses of Congress. However, both the Bush Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration both have proposed smaller increases in the truck economy ratings.

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