Featured E.P.A. Prepares to Roll Back Rules Requiring Cars to Be Cleaner and More Efficient

Worth noting that 54.5 MPG doesn't mean 54.5 MPG.

It means 54.5 MPG gasoline equivalent combined on the 1978 test standards, that CAFE uses for its averages.

In practice, this translates to somewhere around the high 30s to 40 MPG combined in the current test standards.

For comparison, the Gen 4 Prius gets 74.0 MPG combined on the 1978 cycle, and the Gen 4 Prius Eco gets 80.8 MPG combined on the 1978 cycle.

Here's a list of all model year 2018 conventionally-fueled vehicles that meet or exceed 54.5 MPG combined on the 1978 standards. No plugs, no hydrogen, just gasoline.



(There's no diesels here, but it's worth noting that diesels need to get even higher efficiency, due to higher energy content and CO2 emissions per gallon.)

Also consider that EVs and PHEVs help the averages a lot, too. And, for the crossover crazy, I expect the RAV4 Hybrid to be on the 2019 version of this list, or if not, very close to 54.5 MPG.

Basically, 54.5 MPG wasn't ridiculous, the automakers just needed to hybridize.

 

Thank you yes 83.5 MPG on the Prius 2-eco is not too shabby.
Your data also shows the 2018 Camry/Accord comparison I was looking for.
My wife wants the Camry.

 

Thanks for the chart. Its not just the test, there are bonuses too, and different catagories based on footprints.

No SUVs, No pick up trucks without a plug or hydrogen.
Actually the tesla model X and hyundai tucson fuel cell meet the 2025 standard.

Well no, the corporate average fuel economy rules make a gallon of diesel the same for mpg compliance regulations, one of the problems with it.
Can We Hit the Target?: The 54.5-MPG Fuel-Economy Standard Looms Large – Feature – Car and Driver

A diesel and a couple of hybrids can meet 2021 standards, but it likely needs to be a phev or bev or fcv to meet 2025 standards.
How the EPA is Helping Carmakers Hit 2025’s 54.5-mpg CAFE Standard

It actually is sort of ridiculous. Remember the mix changed too as well as much lower gas prices than expected when the regulations were passed. That means that even if the rules stayed the same the goal of average fuel economy would not have hit its target. The diesel, hybrid, and turbo charging small engine bonuses do not reflect actual gains in the real world. Still pruitt if he isn't fired is likely to simply rip up the regulation instead of fixing it.
Trump EPA will revise Obama fuel efficiency rules for autos

With the bonuses it definitely is doable if enough phevs and fuel cell vehicles are sold, but that won't really reduce oil use as much as the 54.5 mpg standard implies.

 

I'm pretty sure the lawsuit between California and Pruitt will suspend Pruitt's actions until well after the next election.

Bob Wilson

 

Of course, all these figures are out the window, until the majority of drivers are willing to adjust their driving to a more conservative style. Wolfpacks are caused by people driving 65-85 mph, brakelights are caused by excessive speeds, tailgating causes unnecessary braking and corresponding accelerator pedal pushes. To say nothing of unnecessary anxiety. When all our driving movements are totally controlled by some sort of Governor, official and electronic, only then can we reach higher standards than present rules suggest. Who is causing this chaos? the average driver. The double nickel ( 55mph ) was a good idea. It will return. Like it or NOT.

 

There are lots of lawsuits between California and the federal government. I don't think there is one for this, nor do I think California has a leg to stand on if it tried a lawsuit here. California has no extra rights to regulate federal fuel economy standards compared to any other state. They were granted an epa waiver to set them in their own state, which may be rescinded, which might cause a suite. The more likely outcome is divergent rules in 2022, where automakers are encouraged to game the system. This likely will have to happen in 2019 as epa is going to get feedback as it tells automakers its killing the 2025 standard.

The reason the camels nose got under the tent in this case is automakers don't want 2 standards - 1 for 14 carb states, and 1 for the 36 other states and average for the country. Ford and Honda want a compromise as they are already making changes to comply with the cafe rules, and like the current loopholes.

Reasonable people would modify the rules and add a oil or fuel tax to actually increase the US fleets fuel economy. We have two unreasonable people heading their agencies and I don't think we will get a good compromise.

 

Just a thought: at the end of this, could it get a lot easier to get a reasonably priced replacement catalytic converter in California? Or is that not reversable?

OTOH, maybe their hybrid battery warranty extensions will vapourize?

 

Do we need a CC on Bevs and hybrids ?

 

Yeah anything with a gas engine has them I think.

 

This is about regulating fuel economy not unhealthy pollution. Which means it has nothing at all to do with catalytic converters. This does not change that it will cost you more to replace a cat in california than any other state, at least if you comply with state regulations.
When an average guy tries to buy catalytic converters for his Ford Mustang in CA | Torque News

Also this has nothing to do with that either, although hybrids will likely be less expensive in california than texas if standards are set differently and manufacturers get a bonus if a car is sold in california.

On this note though, recent testing shows tier one gasoline vehicles made after 2000 pollute less than models would have you believe because of bad test procedures, while diesels and tier 2 gasoline vehicle produce more than models would suggest.

 

Note they only show the Hybrid Camry LE. The higher trim Hybrid Camry have lower mileage ratings.
The Hybrid Camry LE has the same EPA rating as the Prius Liftback (non-ECO)

 

I am little confused where we stand, but from a recent thread it sounds like we might have already lost the CARB extension on the Prii.

Quite shocking we here missed that development. We need to check all of the WMG guides to see where we stand. At least some Prius c's model years seem to be missing that.

 

Inspired by @bhtooefr , who did it right from the Test Car database. I downloaded the fueleconomy.gov version to took all models with 54.5 MPG or higher and ordered them by manufacturer and model:

	Make	Model	MPG
1	BMW	328d	65.6
2	BMW	328d xDrive	59.8
3	BMW	328d xDrive Sports Wagon	59.1
4	BMW	X5 xDrive40e	395.4
5	CHEVROLET	BOLT	182.2
6	CHEVROLET	CRUZE	77.0
7	CHEVROLET	EQUINOX AWD	56.5
8	CHEVROLET	EQUINOX FWD	58.3
9	CHEVROLET	MALIBU	68.3
10	CHEVROLET	SONIC	55.0
11	CHEVROLET	SONIC 5	10000.0
12	CHEVROLET	SPARK	56.9
13	CHEVROLET	VOLT	82.0
14	Chrysler	Pacifica Hybrid	111.4
15	Ford	C-Max (HEV)	58.0
16	Ford	FOCUS	56.6
17	Ford	Focus	59.4
18	Ford	FOCUS	169.2
19	Ford	Fusion (HEV)	62.7
20	Ford	Fusion (PHEV)	61.3
21	HONDA	ACCORD	57.0
22	HONDA	CIVIC 2.0L	59.7
23	HONDA	CIVIC 2DR COUPE 1.5L	60.0
24	HONDA	CIVIC 4DR SEDAN 1.5L	61.3
25	HONDA	CIVIC 4DR SEDAN 2.0L	59.8
26	HONDA	CIVIC 5DR	58.5
27	HONDA	CIVIC Si	55.9
28	HONDA	Clarity Plug-in Hybrid	167.9
29	HONDA	FIT	58.6
30	HYUNDAI	ACCENT	57.3
31	Hyundai	Elantra	58.8
32	HYUNDAI	IONIQ	79.1
33	HYUNDAI	IONIQ PHEV	72.3
34	Jaguar	XE	63.2
35	Jaguar	XE AWD	59.9
36	Kia	Forte	56.6
37	KIA	NIRO	68.2
38	KIA	Niro Plug-in	63.9
39	KIA	Optima	54.8
40	KIA	Optima Hybrid	63.0
41	KIA	OPTIMA PLUG-IN HYBRID	60.4
42	KIA	Rio	55.1
43	LEXUS	ES 300h	57.4
44	MAZDA	MAZDA2	61.7
45	MAZDA	MAZDA3	55.6
46	Mercedes-Benz	C 350e	88.7
47	Mercedes-Benz	Smart Fortwo Electric Drive (convertible)	165.1
48	Mercedes-Benz	Smart Fortwo Electric Drive (coupe)	182.6
49	Mini	MINI COOPER HARDTOP 2 DOOR	55.7
50	Mini	MINI COOPER HARDTOP 4 DOOR	55.7
51	MINI	Mini Cooper SE Countryman ALL4	122.8
52	MITSUBISHI	MIRAGE	64.7
53	MITSUBISHI	MIRAGE G4	62.3
54	MITSUBISHI	OUTLANDER PHEV	111.7
55	NISSAN	ALTIMA	55.0
56	NISSAN	SENTRA	56.3
57	NISSAN	VERSA	58.9
58	SUBARU	IMPREZA 4-Door	57.1
59	TOYOTA	CAMRY	61.8
60	TOYOTA	CAMRY HYBRID LE	73.1
61	TOYOTA	CAMRY HYBRID XLE/SE	64.5
62	TOYOTA	CAMRY LE/SE	61.4
63	TOYOTA	CAMRY XLE/XSE	58.2
64	TOYOTA	COROLLA LE ECO	58.6
65	TOYOTA	PRIUS	78.0
66	TOYOTA	PRIUS c	69.0
67	TOYOTA	PRIUS Eco	84.1
68	VOLKSWAGEN	Jetta	59.4

But when I graph it, these are the top 5% of all makes and models. FYI, I don't know what happened to the Ioniq Blue and Prius Prime that should have been in the downloaded file.

Bob Wilson

 

Bob where do the numbers come from. Some don't look right, but I haven't seen a list. For example the bmw 328d looks to be about 50 mpg cafe from the car and driver chart, but you have it as 65.6 . I am unsure where you or they got their numbers though ;-)

 

There are two sources:

• Download Fuel Economy Data - this is the one started with that has at least two omissions. The one I used for my table.
  
• Data on Cars used for Testing Fuel Economy | Compliance and Fuel Economy Data for Vehicles and Engines | US EPA - this is the one with better metrics and all models.

I don't know why the two differ.

Bob Wilson

 

That does not looks right. The Camry Hybrid LE & the Prius have the same EPA ratings IIRC.

 

hmm. epa for the 328d is 36 mpg. I don't see the raw numbers (could be my eyes) or formula. This should equate to around 49 mpg though, maybe 50 mpg if its got a start stop system in cafe, not the 65 that you have. If you have the old hwy and old city from the 2 cycle test in the data, maybe we can work it.

 

I made a similar table from the other file:

	Division	Carline	City FE (Guide)	Hwy FE (Guide)	Comb FE (Guide)	City Unadj FE	Hwy Unadj FE	Comb Unadj FE	max
1	BMW	328d xDrive	30	40	34	39.3	59.2	46.3	59.2
2	BMW	328d xDrive Sports Wagon	30	40	34	39.3	59.2	46.3	59.2
3	BMW	328d	31	43	36	41.6	64.8	49.6	64.8
4	Chevrolet	SONIC	28	37	32	36.7	55.0	43.2	55.0
5	Chevrolet	SONIC 5	28	37	32	36.7	55.0	43.2	55.0
6	Chevrolet	SPARK	30	38	33	39.8	55.1	45.5	55.1
7	Chevrolet	SPARK ACTIV	30	37	33	39.8	55.1	45.5	55.1
8	Chevrolet	EQUINOX AWD	28	38	32	36.6	56.5	43.5	56.5
9	Chevrolet	SPARK	29	39	33	38.9	56.9	45.4	56.9
10	Chevrolet	SPARK ACTIV	29	38	32	38.9	56.9	45.4	56.9
11	Chevrolet	EQUINOX FWD	28	39	32	36.0	57.8	43.4	57.8
12	Chevrolet	CRUZE	29	40	33	38.9	58.6	45.8	58.6
13	Chevrolet	CRUZE HATCHBACK	29	38	32	38.9	58.6	45.8	58.6
14	Chevrolet	CRUZE PREMIER	29	39	33	38.9	58.6	45.8	58.6
15	Chevrolet	CRUZE PREMIER HATCHBACK	28	37	31	38.9	58.6	45.8	58.6
16	Chevrolet	CRUZE	27	40	32	35.5	59.8	43.4	59.8
17	Chevrolet	CRUZE HATCHBACK	27	38	31	35.5	59.8	43.4	59.8
18	Chevrolet	MALIBU	49	43	46	68.3	60.4	64.5	68.3
19	Chevrolet	CRUZE	31	47	37	40.5	70.2	50.0	70.2
20	Chevrolet	CRUZE HATCHBACK	30	45	35	40.5	70.2	50.0	70.2
21	Chevrolet	CRUZE	30	52	37	40.2	77.0	51.2	77.0
22	Chevrolet	CRUZE HATCHBACK	29	48	35	40.2	77.0	51.2	77.0
23	Ford	FOCUS FWD	26	38	31	34.4	56.6	41.8	56.6
24	Ford	FOCUS FWD	27	38	31	36.1	57.1	43.2	57.1
25	Ford	C-MAX Hybrid FWD	42	38	40	58.0	56.3	57.2	58.0
26	Ford	FOCUS FWD	30	40	34	39.5	59.4	46.5	59.4
27	Ford	FUSION HYBRID FWD	43	41	42	62.0	62.4	62.2	62.4
28	GMC	TERRAIN AWD	28	38	32	36.6	56.5	43.5	56.5
29	GMC	TERRAIN FWD	28	39	32	36.0	57.8	43.4	57.8
30	Honda	CIVIC 2Dr	28	39	32	34.3	54.9	41.3	54.9
31	Honda	CIVIC 2Dr	28	38	32	36.5	55.9	43.3	55.9
32	Honda	CIVIC 4Dr	28	38	32	36.5	55.9	43.3	55.9
33	Honda	ACCORD	30	38	33	39.8	56.4	45.9	56.4
34	Honda	CIVIC 4Dr	28	40	32	34.6	56.5	42.0	56.5
35	Honda	CIVIC 2Dr	30	39	34	39.8	58.4	46.4	58.4
36	Honda	FIT	33	40	36	43.8	58.4	49.4	58.4
37	Honda	CIVIC 5Dr	31	40	34	40.8	58.7	47.3	58.7
38	Honda	CIVIC 2Dr	31	40	35	40.8	58.7	47.3	58.7
39	Honda	CIVIC 4Dr	31	40	34	40.4	59.0	47.1	59.0
40	Honda	CIVIC 2Dr	30	41	35	38.4	59.8	45.8	59.8
41	Honda	CIVIC 4Dr	32	42	36	41.5	60.9	48.5	60.9
42	Honda	CIVIC 4Dr	31	42	35	38.7	61.0	46.3	61.0
43	Honda	ACCORD	47	47	47	67.5	69.5	68.4	69.5
44	HYUNDAI	Accent	28	37	31	36.1	54.9	42.7	54.9
45	HYUNDAI	Elantra SE	29	38	33	38.2	56.5	44.8	56.5
46	HYUNDAI	Accent	28	38	32	36.8	56.7	43.7	56.7
47	HYUNDAI	Elantra	32	40	35	41.4	58.8	47.8	58.8
48	HYUNDAI	Sonata HYBRID	39	44	41	55.9	64.0	59.3	64.0
49	HYUNDAI	Sonata HYBRID SE	40	46	42	56.0	64.0	59.3	64.0
50	HYUNDAI	Ioniq	55	54	55	72.4	74.9	73.5	74.9
51	HYUNDAI	Ioniq Blue	57	59	58	75.7	79.1	77.2	79.1
52	Jaguar	XE AWD	30	40	34	39.9	59.9	47.0	59.9
53	Jaguar	XF AWD	30	40	34	39.9	59.9	47.0	59.9
54	Jaguar	XF	31	42	35	41.3	62.3	48.7	62.3
55	Jaguar	XE	32	42	36	42.6	63.2	49.9	63.2
56	KIA	Forte	29	37	32	37.7	54.8	43.8	54.8
57	KIA	Optima	28	37	31	36.3	54.8	42.8	54.8
58	KIA	Rio	29	37	32	37.5	54.9	43.7	54.9
59	KIA	Rio	28	37	32	36.9	54.9	43.3	54.9
60	KIA	Niro Touring	46	40	43	60.0	58.4	59.3	60.0
61	KIA	Optima Hybrid	39	46	42	54.0	62.8	57.6	62.8
62	KIA	Niro	51	46	49	65.7	62.5	64.2	65.7
63	KIA	Niro FE	52	49	50	68.2	66.2	67.3	68.2
64	LEXUS	ES 300h	40	39	40	56.1	54.2	55.2	56.1
65	Lincoln	MKZ HYBRID FWD	41	38	40	62.0	62.4	62.2	62.4
66	MAZDA	MAZDA3 4-Door	28	38	31	36.2	55.6	42.9	55.6
67	MAZDA	MAZDA2	30	39	34	41.0	57.7	47.1	57.7
68	MAZDA	MAZDA2	32	40	35	42.8	58.9	48.8	58.9
69	Mini	COOPER CONVERTIBLE	28	37	32	36.8	55.1	43.2	55.1
70	Mini	COOPER HARDTOP 4 DOOR	28	37	32	36.8	55.1	43.2	55.1
71	Mini	COOPER HARDTOP 2 DOOR	28	38	32	36.3	55.7	43.0	55.7
72	Mitsubishi	MIRAGE G4	33	40	35	43.7	58.9	49.5	58.9
73	Mitsubishi	MIRAGE	33	41	36	44.7	60.4	50.6	60.4
74	Mitsubishi	MIRAGE G4	35	41	37	46.6	61.7	52.4	61.7
75	Mitsubishi	MIRAGE	37	43	39	50.4	64.4	55.9	64.4
76	NISSAN	SENTRA	29	37	32	37.8	55.7	44.2	55.7
77	NISSAN	VERSA	31	39	34	41.2	57.5	47.2	57.5
78	Subaru	IMPREZA 4-Door	28	38	32	36.4	55.4	43.1	55.4
79	TOYOTA	COROLLA LE ECO	29	38	33	38.9	55.3	44.9	55.3
80	TOYOTA	AVALON HYBRID	40	39	40	56.1	54.2	55.2	56.1
81	TOYOTA	CAMRY LE/SE	28	39	32	36.7	57.7	43.9	57.7
82	TOYOTA	CAMRY XLE/XSE	28	39	32	37.0	58.1	44.2	58.1
83	TOYOTA	COROLLA LE ECO	30	40	34	40.5	58.6	47.0	58.6
84	TOYOTA	YARIS iA	30	39	34	40.9	59.3	47.6	59.3
85	TOYOTA	YARIS iA	32	40	35	43.0	60.1	49.3	60.1
86	TOYOTA	CAMRY	29	41	34	39.1	61.8	46.8	61.8
87	TOYOTA	CAMRY HYBRID XLE/SE	44	47	46	61.7	64.5	62.9	64.5
88	TOYOTA	PRIUS c	48	43	46	68.9	64.0	66.6	68.9
89	TOYOTA	CAMRY HYBRID LE	51	53	52	71.6	71.8	71.7	71.8
90	TOYOTA	PRIUS	54	50	52	76.1	71.6	74.0	76.1
91	TOYOTA	PRIUS Eco	58	53	56	83.6	77.8	80.8	83.6
92	Volkswagen	Jetta	28	38	32	36.3	56.1	43.2	56.1
93	Volkswagen	Jetta	28	40	33	37.3	59.4	44.8	59.4

Bob Wilson

 

Converted @bwilson4web 's list (in post #34) to an Excel spreadsheet, say if you want to reorder just by mpg.