Average Fuel Economy Standards Passenger Cars and Light Trucks Model Year 2011

The future of this country's economy, security, and environment are linked to one key challenge: energy. To reduce fuel consumption, NHTSA has been issuing Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards since the late 1970's under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA). However, the principal effects of these standards are broader than their statutory purpose. Reducing fuel consumption conserves petroleum, a non-renewable energy source, saves consumers money, and promotes energy independence and security by reducing dependence on foreign oil. It also directly reduces the motor vehicle tailpipe emissions of carbon dioxide (CO<INF>2</INF>), which is the principal greenhouse gas emitted by motor vehicles. The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) amended EPCA by mandating that the model year (MY) 2011-2020 CAFE standards be set sufficiently high to ensure that the industry-wide average of all new passenger cars and light trucks, combined, is not less than 35 miles per gallon by MY 2020. This is a minimum requirement, as NHTSA must set standards at the maximum feasible level in each model year. NHTSA will determine, based on all of the relevant circumstances, whether that additional requirement calls for establishing standards that reach the 35 mpg goal earlier than MY 2020. NHTSA published a proposal in May 2008 to begin implementing EISA by establishing CAFE standards for MYs 2011-2015. A draft final rule for those model years was completed, but not issued. In the context of his calls for the development of new national policies to prompt sustained domestic and international actions to address the closely intertwined issues of energy independence, energy security and climate change, the President issued a memorandum on January 26, 2009, requesting NHTSA to divide its rulemaking into two parts. First, he requested the agency to issue a final rule adopting CAFE standards for MY 2011 only. Given the substantial time and analytical effort involved in develop