Fuel economy standards could make the Smart car's stay in the United States a short one, said Brett Smith, assistant director of the Center for Automotive Research.
While the tiny two-seater, with its 41 mile per gallon highway fuel economy, has become a symbol of European efficiency, tougher corporate average fuel economy standards in the United States could kill the car here.
That's because, in a complicated formula still to be hashed by government regulators, a vehicle's "footprint," or its length by its width, is likely to be a key factor in establishing new fuel economy standards, Smith said.
The 106 inch by 61 inch Smart fortwo will essentially have much stricter fuel economy standards than the 185 inch by 71 inch Mercedes-Benz G500 SUV.
The Smart car may have to do a whole lot better than 41 miles per gallon to offset larger vehicles in Daimler AG's American lineup so the German automaker can reach the overall goal of 35 miles per gallon. Until the new rules come into play, Mercedes is counting on the smart car to help it offset the inefficiencies of its larger model lineup. In fact, Mercedes was forced to pay millions of dollars in fines for failing to meeting current government fuel economy standards for the 2007 model year.
Nice source of revenue for the government. Better than us paying taxes. Is this article saying, grab your smarties now, they will not continue to come stateside?
MB become the importer while I went to take a leak
karl
I didn't see any mention of MB importing the car, But they do manufacture it (through their smart subsidiary) so sales here looks like it effects their CAFE.
Nice source of revenue for the government. Better than us paying taxes. Is this article saying, grab your smarties now, they will not continue to come stateside?
This is another reason to reserve a back up now! I'm guessing that 2009 will bring a configuration offering better mileage. Nice to have options.
Gee, coming out of Detroit I wouldn't expect anything but a negative report on the Smart.
I thought the Smart mileage rating was 40+ in the city, higher on the highway
Is it considered a MB since it's another separate line?
I wouldn't call 2013 a short stay. That's when the CAFE standard takes effect. With the emphasis by all the manufacturers on alternative power, ratings are going to change for all the cars, with more introductions of smaller and more efficient vehicles.
It just sounds like sour grapes to make his Detroit readership happy... or less miserable.
"That's because, in a complicated formula still to be hashed by government regulators, a vehicle's "footprint," or its length by its width, is likely to be a key factor in establishing new fuel economy standards, Smith said."
The "footprint" thing got me thinking and looking. There is an extensive (and recent) write-up on Wikipedia concerning CAFE, including the footprint theory. If Wikipedia is correct, the footprint calculation is for light trucks, not cars. Also of Wikipedia, one never knows who the original writer is or who they represent, but it is a good read.
I agree, I would see the footprint method only as a way of the bigger vehicles being given a break. I can't see - even this government - being stupid enough to ban a truely fuel efficient vehicle!
Gee, coming out of Detroit I wouldn't expect anything but a negative report on the Smart.
I thought the Smart mileage rating was 40+ in the city, higher on the highway
Is it considered a MB since it's another separate line?
I wouldn't call 2013 a short stay. That's when the CAFE standard takes effect. With the emphasis by all the manufacturers on alternative power, ratings are going to change for all the cars, with more introductions of smaller and more efficient vehicles.
It just sounds like sour grapes to make his Detroit readership happy... or less miserable.
35 mpg CAFE std goes into effect NLT 2020
smart is rated at 33 mpg city, 41 mpg highway on smart usa.com
The huge loophole in the new CAFE standard is it applies to the industry as a whole; the Feds can grant waivers to individual manufacturers and even certain vehicle lines as long as the industry average for cars and trucks sold in the USA in 2020 is 35 mpg or better.
John
Last edited by jwight; 01-13-2008 at 06:01 PM.
Reason: corrected hwy mpg figure
I agree, I would see the footprint method only as a way of the bigger vehicles being given a break. I can't see - even this government - being stupid enough to ban a truely fuel efficient vehicle!
The damned "official" mileage numbers for Smart are fudged....I am sure of it. The tester (if it really was tested) had a lead foot when he performed the FTP on the dyno....that's as easy to do as using stupid driving habits when you drive on the road....like maintaining road speed right up to 50 yards from a redlight and then nearly jamming on the brakes, or jackrabbit starts at every stop sign or stoplight...those kinds of things will all add up during the time an FTP is performed and has a very definite *negative* effect on the end result.
Wait and see....those mileage numbers will be moved up once the car gets into the US and everyone sees that they are bogus.
Just more *Detroit Negative Spin*, land of the big motors.
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