Obama Kills The V8, Announces 35.5 MPG Target For 2016
May 19th, 2009
With the automakers proverbial balls in his hands, President Obama has killed the V8. In fact he has killed all forms of automotive fun, that is unless you consider trying to get a highscore at your local hypermiling competition fun.
Obama brought together the automakers, environmentalists, and state politicians to strike a landmark deal that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% and increase the average fuel economy of an automaker’s fleet to 35.5 mpg. The current requirement for automakers is 25.1 mpg.
“For the first time in history, we have set in motion a national policy aimed at both increasing gas mileage and decreasing greenhouse gas pollution for all new trucks and cars,” Obama said. “In the past, an agreement such as this would have been considered impossible.”
Its a win-win-win-win-lose situation. The Federal Government (or Obama) is a winner here for bringing everyone together, something that the Bush Administration was unable (or unwilling) to do. The state politicians win as they no longer have to create their own fuel-efficiency standards and can fall back on the new stricter Federal standards. The environmentalists have scored a big victory as the new mileage targets come a full four years sooner than was necessary under a 2007 Federal Court ruling. The automakers now have a single standard to meet which will help reduce costs. They have also agreed to drop any pending lawsuits that were brought on to fight the state specific standards. Anything that will cut costs for the automakers is good news.
Now, of course there has to be a loser in all of this. Of course, that distinction goes to you and me the lowly consumer. Not only will high performance (fuel guzzling) automobiles be missing from roads in 2016, we’ll also be paying on average of $600 to $1,300 more for these newer fuel sipping vehicles. As taxpayers, our tax dollars have already been funneled to the automakers in the form of bailouts to keep these companies alive and now we’ll be forced to buy cars that are fuel efficient.
While I may have painted a rosy picture for the automakers, that is not the case. If the automakers did not have their hands out begging for Federal bailout money, they likely would have been in a much better position to negotiate and continue fighting this battle like they have for the last seven years.
After the announcement, Obama got into his Presidential Limo that gets about 5 mpg. ;)
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I guess used performance cars are going to start holding their value a lot better now.
This is a sad day; this is the day that choosing a car that is good on fuel goes from being a choice, to a forced option. Environment be damned in the face of civil liberties and freedoms.
Fuck
That is all
I think we’re going to see the rise of performance coupes again. Small, turbocharged 4cyl pushing around 200 horsepower or so.
Who knows, might usher in a new era of automobiles.
So, then what happens to cars already on the road that obviously do not conform to these standards….
Are they taxed, or just grandfathered??…
Fuck, I’m gonna drive my boosted RX-8 with pride all around the white house…16mph on the highway FTW!
mpg sorry, need more coffee
I love performance cars, but am also stoked on not having to ride my bike to work in smog created by some of the useless gas guzzlers out there. Why people need full-size V8 trucks to commute to an office job every day has never made sense to me. Something tells me those of us who are auto enthusiasts will still be able to have fun cars for the track & weekend drives, without killing the environment when idling in traffic trying to get from point a to b.
EK: The new fuel economy standards are for automakers building new vehicles. Nothing to do with whats on the road right now.
Does this include the larger SUVs? I remember hearing they were exempt because they were classed as “heavy duty” vehicles. I can understand the 3/4 ton and 1 ton work trucks in that category or even the larger vans but since SUV are commuter vehicles regulating them will have a bigger impact than any performance car in production right now.
Simply give people who buy cars that return better then 35.5 MPG a sizeable tax rebate to encourage buyers to be ‘greener’. Making a 35.5 MPG limit on all cars is ridiculous, but I can’t say I’m surprised after what I’ve seen coming out of the Obama administration.
And this is how Imports will become even more popular. Haha.
35.5 mpg by US standards = 42.6 mpg for us imperial users, or 6.6 litres per 100km. My ‘98 BMW 2.8l i6 gets 6.9l/100km highway cruising so I think 35.5 is an attainable number that will still allow for some good performance. The 35.5 figure must be a combined mileage so I think you will see a lot more engines that turn off a couple of cylinders when cruising to lower that average figure and different gear ratios to increase speeds at lower rpm’s. Now add in aftermarket superchargers etc, and you’ll still be able to make a rocket. They can’t ban you from getting a turbo or supercharger. There are ways around laws and the automakers are not so dumb to be able to figure out the loopholes.
Canmorite has a good Canadian idea, tax credits for greener cars, but our government usually goes the sin tax way so when it is time for Canada to do something we’ll probably see $5 a litre gas to go along with $30 packs of cigarettes and $50 boxes of beer all hidden behind huge brick walls.
Fuck.That.Shit.
That goes against our rights as Americans to own what the fuck we want including V8’s or 4 Cylinders. Don’t get me wrong, I like to know we’re going green, but that is straight BULLSHIT. I’ll have no issues with my bike, but what about my truck that’s used as a family car AND for work. I can only think of Bio-Diesel making its loong awaited arrival after a drawn out hype for the past.. I don’t even remember how many years. Don’t be surprised to see a petitions flying around your neighborhood any time soon. SIGN that shit!
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ive got one truck and its an old 86 dodge power ram 4×4 with a 318 v-8. i cant find a truck today capable of doing what that truck will since i completely rebuilt the motor, transmission and 4 wheel drive system. i also lifted it to fit 35x 13.50 15 inch tires to go into the mountains if need be. i dont care about gas mileage i just want v-8 power and the ability to burn the tires, sling a little mud, and pull anything i feel like without the cost of a deisel. deisels are expensive to buy and even more expensive to maitain.
No worries. Innovation will make sure we get the same or more power at 35.5. I can gurantee that. After that, if we come up with 71 mpg by 2025, even that will give us the power we need then. Don’t worry Gary, regulation never can stop market forces. Innovation has always found a way.
Why are you guys so today-centric and visionless?
back in the early 80s my father was hit head on by a drunk driver.he survived with minor injuries. he was driving a lincoln town car. the police told him if he were driving anything smaller he might have been killed. since then i have been a staunch supporter of big v8 powered cars.i do not want to be coaxed into a 35 mpg coffin.