Obama announces tough new gas mileage standards -- 54.5 mpg

[The Straight Story]

Obama announces tough new gas mileage standards -- 54.5 mpg

President Obama is announcing tough fuel-economy standards starting in the 2017 model year, requiring automakers to average 54.5 miles a gallon.

The standard is sure to force dramatic changes in cars, making them smaller, lighter and loaded with higher-technology engines like hybrids, diesels or other fuel savers. The standard is so tough that only a couple electric models would meet it today. Even Toyota's Prius hybrid, which averages 50 miles a gallon, would fall short.

But because of the way fuel economy is calculated, window sticker labels of estimated fuel economy of individual models will be lower.

Those labels will probably show values of about 40 mpg, says Roland Hwang, transportation director for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "Because of the differences between the laboratory certification test cycle and the on-road fuel efficiency, drivers can expect to see the average window fuel economy label to be about 40 mpg, compared to today's average of about 22.5 mpg," Hwang writes.

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