|
Antidote to Memorial Day Sticker Shock at the Pump ‘I Want My MPG!’ Website Shows How Higher CAFE Standards Can Take the Bite Out of Summertime Pain at the Pump (Washington, DC) -- As the summer driving season begins this Memorial Day weekend, families across America continue to feel the pinch of the country’s addiction to oil. Gas prices are topping their all-time record highs. In fact, Consumers Union testified before Congress last week that the average American family is spending $1,000 more on gas every year now than they were five years ago. That’s certainly enough to pay for the average family’s Memorial Day getaway, or perhaps enough to prevent them from taking one in the first place. With fuel economy on everyone’s mind, the Sierra Club is launching its updated "I Want My MPG!" fuel economy calculator (www.sierraclub.org/mpg/) to help Americans understand how much they could benefit if automakers were required to use existing, affordable technology to increase the fuel economy of the cars, SUVs and other trucks that Americans drive each and every day. "Making our cars and trucks go farther on a gallon of gas is the biggest single step we can take to save money at the gas pump, curb global warming, and cut America’s dangerous dependence on oil," said Dan Becker, Director of Sierra Club’s Global Warming Program. "Americans need to know how much they could be saving if automakers were required to use existing fuel-saving technology." The technology exists today to make all new vehicles--from sedans to pickup trucks to SUVs--average 40 miles per gallon within ten years. Raising Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards would save American consumers billions of dollars. Taking this step would also curb global warming emissions and help make America more secure by reducing our oil dependence by 4 million barrels per day - more oil than the United States currently imports from the entire Persian Gulf and could ever take out of the Arctic Refuge, combined. The "I Want My MPG!" calculator allows consumers to find out just how much their fuel bills and global warming emissions would be reduced if we modernized CAFE standards. Consumer can enter their specific make and model, local gas price, and the number of miles they drive each year. For instance, the following examples show consumer savings for a range of vehicles paying today’s average (AAA) of $3.22 per gallon and driving 12,500 miles per year.
"In his State of the Union speech President Bush proposed a 4 percent annual increase in fuel economy standards," said Becker. "It’s time for our leaders in Washington to deliver on that promise so that our cars, trucks, and SUVs are guaranteed to average at least 35 miles per gallon by 2020. Unfortunately, the big auto companies and their friends in Washington are fighting hard to prevent this from happening. It’s time for our leaders in Washington to do the people's business, not business as usual." # # #
|
