http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/30/business/30fuel.html?pagewanted=printBut the overall fuel savings, 8.1 percent when the rule is fully phased in, were characterized as too modest by many conservation advocates, who also noted that the biggest pick-up trucks will still be unregulated. Remarks by auto manufacturers were restrained.
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The rule covers "light trucks" in the model years from 2008 to 2011. The current rules cover vehicles weighing up to 8,500 pounds. But the new one will cover S.U.V.'s that weigh up to 10,000 pounds. That includes the heavier variants of the Chevy Suburban and the Hummer H2. (The H1 is over 10,000 pounds and still exempt.)
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The rule will save 10.7 billion gallons of fuel over the lifetime of the vehicles in those model years, the department estimated. Currently, the United States uses that much gasoline in less than a month.
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Transportation officials estimated that the rule would cost vehicle manufacturers about $6.7 billion, a big number even by the standards of federal rule-making, and would add about $200 to the cost of the average vehicle. But owners would save that much within four years, officials said, based on a fuel price of $2 a gallon at the beginning of the period, rising to $2.39 over the vehicle's lifetime. In fact, average gasoline prices are already slightly above the second figurThe standard is 21.6 miles a gallon for the current model year; it would rise to about 24 miles a gallon in 2011, the last year of the rule, but it would be calculated differently. The new rule sets a fuel economy standard based on the vehicle's "footprint," or how far apart the wheels are. Actual fuel economy will depend on the mix of vehicles sold. The smallest S.U.V.'s, like the Suzuki Grand Vitara and the Jeep Wrangler, would have to meet a standard of 28.6 miles per gallon. The car standard is 27.5 miles per gallon.