Not Good Enough

The Bush administration proposed new rules today that would raise the minimum fuel efficiency standards for most new cars made beginning in 2008. While this is certainly a positive step, these new fuel efficiency standards do not go far enough. On average, the fuel efficiency in cars is being bumped up only 1.3 miles per gallon. While the new standards will save 10 billion gallons of gas over the life of the vehicles, that's a really small number considering that the U.S. uses 140 billion gallons of gas a year. Thus, continue to expect to pay at least $2.50 a gallon for years to come.