Fuel Economy Overview
Evolution of the Current Policy
The Arab embargo of 1973-1974 and the tripling in the price of crude oil brought into sharp focus the fuel inefficiency of U.S. automobiles. New car fleet fuel economy had declined from 14.8 miles per gallon (mpg) in model year (MY) 1967 to 12.9 mpg in 1974. In the search for ways to reduce dependence on imported oil, automobiles were an obvious target. Energy Policy and Conservation Act The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) established corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for passenger cars for model years 1978-1980 and 1985 and thereafter. The CAFE standards called for essentially a…
