How You Can Have Your SUV and Afford To Drive It Too

Imagine your closet is full of gray clothes, all of them. Sure, you may live by the sorry fantasy you have great wardrobe choices and might even devote time deciding among shades. I admit, I have no idea why you'd be in such a predicament...lets just say, for argument's sake, designers at Fashion Week decided to play it safe that year.

This is basically the bald-faced illusion consumers face when shopping for a new car. Today you can go to the dealership and debate between 14 mile-per-gallon SUV or a 46 mpg Prius, agonizing over which will best both fit your driving needs and save you money at the pump. What many don't realize is that auto manufacturers are capable of offering so much more at both ends of the car-size spectrum.

This is essentially the point that a coalition of 19 environmental groups made today in a letter (pdf) to President Obama.

At the end of this month, the administration is set to unveil a new proposal for passenger car and light-duty truck fuel economy standards. Current regulations require each automaker's fleet to rise to an average of 35.5 miles-per-gallon (mpg) by 2016. The new proposal will set the path forward from 2017 through 2025, and the coalition says that Obama's EPA and Transportation Department should propose at minimum a 60 mpg standard by the end of that period, in addition to strong tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions limits.

A standard like this will be Detroit's equivalent of supplanting a spectrum of dull grays with real consumer choice: an offering of cars of all kinds that don't guzzle gasoline like it was going out of style (actually, it is). This can all be done with essentially current technologies. In fact, a report last week from a University of Michigan researcher found that, even without electric cars, U.S. autos could average at 74 mpg by 2035, a tripling of the current fuel economy. David Friedman, a vehicles expert with the Union of Concerned Scientists says 60 mpg by 2025 is also completely achievable: in one instance this would involve about half the fleet as regular hybrid vehicles we see on the road today and only 15 percent electric cars (and with the first mass-market all-electric models due out this year, this should be a feasible goal).

These standards would in no way involve throwing out today's gas-powered cars like they were so last year. New direct-injection and start-stop engines, lightweight materials, dual-clutch automatic transmissions, and a whole host of updates will give even your typical gas-guzzling SUV a whole fresh look.

We are quick to forget that for the last 20 years, real-world auto fuel economy levels were basically stuck just about 20 mpg. That was no accident: Over those decades, their were huge strides in engine efficiency, but car makers chose to use that to build more powerful engines rather than reduce fuel burned, as I wrote about in April.

Increasing fuel economy standards is one of those can't lose propositions. An analysis (pdf) by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Union of Concerned Scientists says setting a 2025 60 mpg standard would save 49 billion gallons of fuel and emissions equivalent to taking 70 million of today's cars off the road. And while this will cost the auto industry some, and will likely increase the sticker price a the dealership, study after study finds consumers easily make their money back in fuel savings within a relative short time frame.

You can join these groups in telling President Obama to give Americans an explosion of fuel-efficient colors. Go to their web site and sign a letter to cast your vote for a much brighter future.

Photo credit: chego101 via Flickr

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