CAFE

  WASHINGTON D.C. — IER Director of Regulatory Affairs Daniel Simmons issued the following statement about today's announcement by the Obama administration of a new corporate average fuel economy mandate (CAFE): "This is an undemocratic, dangerous, and costly decision. The Obama administration's heavy-handed regulation overrides American's automobile preferences and imposes the choices of unelected bureaucrats on consumers. Forcing ever-higher fuel economy mandates will lead to less...
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For years we at the Institute for Energy Research have highlighted the problems with the Obama administration’s corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) mandate. We have written comments to the administration (here and here ) and explained how raising the fuel economy standard will reduce safety, price drivers out of the market, and reduce automobile choice and mobility itself. Today Rep. Darrell Issa, the Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, released a report entitled...
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  The BlueGreen Alliance has released a new study arguing that tighter fuel economy standards on cars and light trucks will not only mitigate climate change, but will also create jobs. As with most studies in the “green jobs” literature, this one too rests on faulty economic analysis. The federal government doesn’t do consumers any favors by restricting their options in the marketplace. The BlueGreen Alliance study at least has the honesty to admit—albeit in a very low-key...
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  In July 2011, President Obama announced yet another federal intervention into the economy: increased fuel-efficiency mandates for vehicles. Although his speech was jocular and peppered with humor, it was also filled with very misleading “facts” about energy markets. In the present piece I’ll address some of the biggest whoppers. The President Agrees: Rising Oil Prices Are Bad! Although we won’t have many kind things to say about the speech, at least the president acknowledged...
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  On February 13, 2012, IER submitted its comment on EPA’s proposed light-duty truck greenhouse gas emissions standards. As we will see, even relying on the EPA’s own analysis shows just how absurd federal intervention into energy markets has become. The debate would be funny, if it didn’t have such serious consequences in terms of economic welfare and indeed traffic fatalities. Takeaway Messages For those readers with a busy schedule, the following bullet points summarize the...
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