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Test: AP Environmental Science
| 1. | In recent years, many automotive companies have gotten away with marketing large SUVs with very poor fuel economy. How is this legally possible? |
Many of these large, fuel-inefficient SUVs were marketed and sold in the United States before CAFE standards were implemented and have thus been "grandfathered" in.
SUVs are often classified as a "light truck" and are exempt from the fuel economy standards put in place for passenger vehicles.
Companies that manufacture fuel-inefficient SUVs also manufacture fuel-efficient subcompact cars, resulting in an average fleet fuel economy that meets CAFE standards.
The vast majority of these fuel-inefficient SUVs are equipped with "flex-fuel" technology, which makes them eligible for an exemption from CAFE standards, implemented to encourage consumer purchase of American-produced corn ethanol.
CAFE standards are not based upon the actual fuel economy of a fleet but rather the progress in fuel economy a manufacturer has made over the years. A fleet with poor fuel economy can be sold in the United States as long as the average fuel economy has improved from fleets of previous years.
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