U.S. Relaxes Standards on Fuel Mileage : GM, Ford Faced Huge Fines on ’86 Models; Chrysler Complains
The government relaxed its fuel economy requirements for 1986 model cars Tuesday, saying it would have been impossible for the nation’s two largest auto makers to meet the original standards laid out by Congress.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said auto makers’ 1986 passenger fleets must average 26 miles per gallon, rather than the originally mandated standard of 27.5 m.p.g. The ruling made final the NHTSA’s tentative decision in July to ease overall mileage standards for passenger cars in the new model year.
Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Hanford Dole, who oversees the NHTSA, had been under strong pressure to reverse the decision before a Sept. 30 deadline. Conservation and consumer groups had argued that a relaxation would send a signal that the United States was no longer as interested in energy conservation efforts and would cause other conservation measures to lapse.
Mixed Reaction
Tuesday’s decision by Dole not to reverse the NHTSA was instantly praised by Ford and General Motors, which risked millions of dollars in fines for failing to meet the higher mileage standard and petitioned the NHTSA to roll back the requirements.
Chrysler, which says it invested $4.8 billion to convert most of its fleet to fuel-efficient front-wheel-drive cars that would meet the original 27.5 m.p.g. standard, was “extremely disappointed” by the NHTSA’s decision, a spokesman said.
“The fuel economy standards were established after the 1974 energy crisis. Weakening the standards defies reason and makes the nation vulnerable to another energy crisis,” Chrysler spokesman Doug Nicoll said in Detroit.
“We proved the technology exists to obey the law and despite NHTSA’s decision, Chrysler plans to meet the 27.5 m.p.g. standard intended by Congress,” Nicoll said.
“We think the standard is good for America and the American consumer. It should be good enough for all of American’s auto makers,” he said.
Ford and GM also are asking the NHTSA to reduce the mileage standard for 1987 models and subsequent years, but the agency said it has not made a decision on model years beyond 1986.
Nicoll said: “We hope that the Department of Transportation, when considering the fuel economy standards for 1987 to 1990, examines all manufacturers’ actions, the nation’s need to continue the strong energy conservation program, and then determines that no justification exists for further relaxing the fuel economy standards.”
The NHTSA said its final decision on the 1986 model year came after reviewing public comments and other information that indicated “adverse economic consequences, including job losses in the tens of thousands in the auto industry, if the standard was not lowered.”
Congress established the passenger car standard at 27.5 m.p.g. for model year 1985 and beyond, but gave the NHTSA authority to revise the standard.
The NHTSA said Ford and GM made “substantial efforts and progress” toward meeting the 27.5 m.p.g. requirement. But it said that “factors beyond their control, including declining fuel prices, led to increased consumer demand for larger cars and engines, and made it impossible for the two auto makers to meet that level without severely restricting the production of larger, less fuel-efficient cars.”
The NHTSA said maintaining the higher mileage standard would have resulted in sales losses amounting to hundreds of thousands of cars and would have placed “unreasonable restrictions” on the variety of cars available to consumers.
