Foreword
The Arab oil embargoes of the early 1970s prompted Congress to take steps to help reduce America’s gasoline consumption and dependence on foreign energy sources. With American-made cars then averaging 18 miles per gallon (mpg), the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) of 1975 established a new Federal system for regulating the fuel economy of cars and light trucks. Advocates of the corporate average fuel economy, or CAFE, program hoped that it would improve air quality as well. The program requires U.S. manufacturers to meet certain fuel economy levels for their new vehicle fleets each year. The current standard is…
