It'll be a challenge to reach 54.5 MPG as Americans get heavier

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MugenOne

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Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in recent decades in the US, and with our bulging bellies has come an increase in serious health issues like diabetes and heart disease. Add to that excess gasoline consumption and additional risks in accidents, and the fat forecast gets even more depressing.

Starting with the statistic that Americans’ weight gain is burning more than one billion gallons of excess fuel each year, Allstate and Cars.com have created an infographic explaining the complex struggle between fuel efficiency and passenger weight (check it out below). The short version: as automakers explore their options to meet ambitious federal corporate average fuel economy standards of 54.5 mpg by 2025, obese passengers make the efforts more complex.

The infographic, called “The Seesaw Battle of Fuel Efficiency,” looks at what automakers are doing to meet the 54.5 mpg mandate during a time when more than one third of American adults are obese. For the automakers, cutting down weight is important because every 100 extra pounds can cut fuel efficiency by up to two percent. To improve efficiency, automakers are reducing vehicle weight by using more lightweight, high-strength steel and lightweight aluminum. They are also changing accessories inside the car, such as using MP3 players instead of CD players, flash drives instead of owner’s manuals and air pumps instead of spare tires. To paraphrase Jay Leno, take out all you want, we’ll eat more.

green.autoblog.com/2012/10/10/challenges-ahead-to-reach-54-5-mpg-as-americans-get-heavier/

Look at the map from 1990 and compare it to 2010. Wow! If the trend continues, we’ll end up with a nation of 40-50% obesity. Unreal. Automakers will have a CAFE disclaimer in order to minimize lawsuits.
 
All they have to do is install stronger suspensions to push up against the extra weight.
 
If they manufacture super small cars, then only small people will ever drive them. Problem solved.

Just be sure to give the car a smart name, so people won’t feel like they chose a dumb car.
 
54.5 CAFE MPG equals 40 EPA MPG(our current rating system). We are not far off.
 
CAFE tests use the same standard allowances for driver, passenger and gear as they always have in order to maintain level basis of comparison. Americans could grow to 500 pounds and it would have ZERO effect on a car’s CAFE rating. Real world mileage doesn’t play into it.

As someone above, the rating on the new car sticker is NOT the number used in the CAFE evaluation system. The Chevy Cruze Eco (stick shift version) already beats the future standard, even though its window sticker only says 42mpg. I don’t hear anybody claiming that car is an unsafe, clown car not suitable for real human transport. Poor babies just need to learn to drive stick. Try it - it’s fun!
 
Not to mention as the ethanol content of motor fuel goes up. E10 reduces fuel mileage by 7%; E15 by 10%.
 
No one should be concerned about this. If Obama is re-elected, we’ll be paying so much for gas to get to work and back that we won’t have enough money left for food. 🙂
 
Not to mention as the ethanol content of motor fuel goes up. E10 reduces fuel mileage by 7%; E15 by 10%.
Not a problem for me, I drive a diesel VW Golf. In summer on the highway I get 52 mpg and 700 miles per tank.
 
All they have to do is install stronger suspensions to push up against the extra weight.
That doesn’t solve anything. Better suspensions doesn’t change the weight of the car. The engine would still need to pull the same weight, which means more load. This is a matter of the physics of motion, not gravity. A car needs more energy to move the heavier it gets. And where else will the car get that energy than from burning more fuel.
 
Not a problem for me, I drive a diesel VW Golf. In summer on the highway I get 52 mpg and 700 miles per tank.
Europeans had this vision, I don’t know why Americans don’t want to bother with diesel technology. The only thing stopping me from getting a diesel VW is the fact that diesel isn’t readily available in all gas stations.
 
Europeans had this vision, I don’t know why Americans don’t want to bother with diesel technology. The only thing stopping me from getting a diesel VW is the fact that diesel isn’t readily available in all gas stations.
Some of the modern diesel cars are making it worthwhile to go out of your way to find one. Getting 54 MPG is incredible. I am on the hunt for an early 80s VW Rabbit Diesel. Simple mechanics means low maintenance costs and low fuel costs to boot.
 
If we don’t meet the goal, will the Federal Government get mad and quit?
 
While I agree people in the US are overweight, the car’s weight is the real issue. Look at curb weight from the 90s to today. The government is the real problem here.
 
Diesels are interesting, but the new crop don’t save you money compared to the best comparable gassers. The diesel engine costs more up front, they have high pressure fuel injection systems that cost a LOT more than gas fuel injection repairs, and they now need extra emissions stuff (particulate filters or urea injectors) that reduce fuel economy or add another fluid to refill (no, you can’t pee in the jug). Given that around here diesel usually costs about 10% more per gallon, costs more to buy the car up front and loses some of its mpg mojo to emissions controls, IMO diesels don’t pay for themselves in a reasonable lifetime.

Moneywise, you’re better off in an economy-tuned gasoline stick shift, which cost less up front and almost always beat their EPA ratings in the real world (unless you try to drive it like Nascar). Few makers offer a stick shift tuned for economy (usuall tuned for performance). The Cruze Eco is one of the rare ones and no coincidence that it has the best EPA highway mileage rating for any conventional gasser on the road.

Heck, my 1995 Saturn SL stick shift was rated 40 and still generally gets in my commuter duty. That’s 18 model years ago!
 
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