Fuel-Economy Report’s Findings May Be Flawed

The National Academy of Sciences says it may have overestimated the fuel savings possible if auto makers were to change how they design vehicles.

In an unusual move, the academy will hold a public hearing Oct. 5 to consider changing its July report on the nation’s fuel-economy standards.

The report is at the center of the debate over whether the government should force auto makers to make vehicles that go farther on a gallon of gas, which would reduce emissions and dependence on foreign oil.

The panel found that a variety of available technologies can improve fuel use by as much as 40% in some vehicles without significant reductions in size and weight. Auto makers for years have said smaller, lighter cars are less safe.

The auto industry questions the math used in the study, and the academy concedes there may have been miscalculations.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers believes scientists on the panel double-counted when combining the efficiencies of multiple technologies to arrive at the 40% figure.

The scientists at the academy say they do not expect significant alterations to the report’s findings, although they may make technical changes.

Fuel-economy standards were set in 1975 at 27.5 miles per gallon on new passenger cars and 20.7 mpg for light trucks, including pickups, minivans and sport-utility vehicles. The auto makers do not have to meet the standard for each vehicle but for their entire fleet.

The administration has said it is going to rely heavily on the academy’s findings when it decides what changes should be made to the fuel-economy requirements. The Transportation Department has been prohibited by law from even studying an increase in recent years, but asked to have that provision removed for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.

The panel did not recommend specific fuel-economy improvements but said the government’s regulations should be made more flexible. They also should be designed to get the greatest fuel-economy improvements from the heaviest vehicles, meaning sport-utility vehicles, it said.

Environmentalists had hoped the report would justify higher fuel-economy standards. They say they fear auto makers are trying to undermine the report’s findings.

“They don’t want to put technology to work,” said the Sierra Club’s Ann Mesnikoff. “Americans for months have wanted us to reduce our dependence on oil. Instead, the auto industry is fighting it every step of the way.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will begin to consider an increase in fuel-economy standards next month.