CAFE standards

[Anduril]

No, you don't, as long as the car is original. They will test it to the standards to which it was built. However, if you have had your cat replaced years ago in another state with a non CARB-compliant model, you may have to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars to replace it with a CARB one at emissions test time, or junk the car.

 

[PeterPolyol]

Originally Posted by Kage860
Originally Posted by otis24
I know that the fuel economy of some small SUVs is starting to be on par with some sedans, but not quite. It is hard to get a 4WD/AWD vehicle that gets the same fuel economy as a sedan. With many manufacturers dropping sedans from their vehicle lineups, what does this do to their CAFE averages? How do they hope to meat the average required fuel economy with no sedans? And how do they hope to respond to rising CAFE standards?


Actually making crossovers compared to sedans improves their cafe numbers. Crossovers are classified as "trucks" and therefore have separate fuel economy targets compared to sedans. They are allowed about 10 mpg lower on trucks as cars. Sedans that are not hybrids may cease to exist. Longer wheelbase vehicles are also allowed lower mpg. Manmade rules have unintended consequences and the automakers need to both obey the rules and survive. When you look at where the cafe numbers are headed it makes a lot of sense not to bother with cars.



Ah ha! It's not consumer demand killing sedans, although that makes a fantastic red herring, it's nervous CAFE tricks by automakers for the sake of their futures!