Car Lovers Rejoice! After 50 Miserable
Years, CAFE Standards Are Dead
Issues & Insights,
by
The Editorial Board
Original Article
Posted By: RockyTCB,
7/25/2025 9:08:56 AM
One of the most important provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill has gone completely unnoticed, but promises to make the auto industry great again.
For 50 years, the federal government has been forcing fuel economy standards on auto companies. If the average fuel economy of the cars sold in a year exceeded a federal standard, the companies had to cough up enormous penalties.
Passed in 1975 as a way to deal with an energy crisis (that was caused by government price controls), “corporate average fuel economy” (CAFE) standards – required the fleet of cars sold by an automaker to achieve
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Reply 1 - Posted by:
Jethro bo 7/25/2025 9:20:42 AM (No. 1982256)
Now if they just got rid of fructose gas!
24 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
Newtsche 7/25/2025 9:32:45 AM (No. 1982265)
Small pickups back?
5 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
pc504 7/25/2025 9:51:21 AM (No. 1982276)
They really got to peak efficiency and reliability from around the mid 1990’s to 2005, after that reliability has gone steadily down hill to the point that engines go bad at 40,000 miles, transmissions go bad and the electronics are a nightmare to diagnose.
12 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Vaquero45 7/25/2025 9:54:49 AM (No. 1982277)
This is great news. Now that the CAFE penalty is down to zero, it will be easier to repeal the law entirely.
I drive a Toyota Tacoma truck. It has a V-6 engine, and it’s good power. I was looking into a new one, but the V-6 has been replaced by a turbocharged 4-cylinder. That’s fine for urban areas and flat roads, but I do a lot of mountain driving and offroading in 4-wheel drive, and a 4-cylinder engine just doesn’t have enough torque. Maybe next year Toyota will put the V-6 back, if CAFE standards are gone, and I can start thinking about a new truck.
15 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
bpl40 7/25/2025 9:56:24 AM (No. 1982280)
Good riddance!
11 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Madman2 7/25/2025 10:46:34 AM (No. 1982302)
The CAFE standard effectively killed off the station wagon because they classified it as a car, not a truck, Cars required much higher mileage efficiency that trucks, so it was easier to simply stop making station wagons rather than meet those requirements. It would be wonderful to bring back station wagons again!
7 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Hazymac 7/25/2025 10:49:21 AM (No. 1982304)
#1 is right. Get that corn out of our gasoline. Ethanol an adulterant (not a fortifier) with two-thirds the energy content of straight gasoline, an inferior fuel that attracts water (hydrophilic), which can ruin the interior of the fuel tank, the fuel filter, and the engine. The Renewable Fuel Standard, signed into law by GWB, needs to be repealed. The sooner, the better.
21 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
WWIIDaughter 7/25/2025 11:03:19 AM (No. 1982310)
My 2011 Toyota FJ Cruiser (189,000 miles) has never had a mechanical problem, zero engine repairs. Looked at the new Toyota Cruiser. Hybrid (why? and heck no!). The new Cruiser costs @$60,000.
My FJ weighs 4,000 lbs. I've been hit twice while sitting at stoplights, foot on brake. Both times, my FJ and I didn't move an inch. The KIA that hit me going @ 20 mph bounced off me. The station wagon's engine was totaled as it hit me from the rear. I had to replace a bumper. Gas mileage is low and costs a lot to fill my FJ. You get what you pay for. If Toyota produces a Cruiser that's all gas-powered and is heavy enough to send a KIA flying, I might get a new one.
8 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
franq 7/25/2025 11:15:54 AM (No. 1982314)
Unfortunately, there are multiple millions of cars on the road, designed to comply with these awful mandates. Usable life suffers for it.
2 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
texaspast 7/25/2025 11:18:16 AM (No. 1982315)
I think Ford must have seen this coming. This year I traded in my F-150 with a 6-cyl turbo. It rode great, but not much of a hauling truck, and a 10-speed automatic with a 6 cyl is kind of pointless. Traded for a nice Ford with a 7.3 liter V8 gas engine. For us old folks, that's 455 cubic inches, 430 hp stock with no adjustments. They call it the "Godzilla" engine. I haven't had to worry about only pressing lightly on the gas when taking off from a stop since driving a 1968 Roadrunner. And this engine makes the 10-speed make sense! I'm a happy camper! My wife, however, thinks the F-250 rides kind of rough :) If I drive it below 65 on the interstate, I can get maybe 18-19 mpg. But regular driving, I get maybe 13-14. Pretty much what the Roadrunner got way back when.
Now, if they'll drop that engine in a Mustang . . . Or a Bronco!
7 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
mc squared 7/25/2025 12:33:49 PM (No. 1982353)
Many of the premature engine failures are the result of manufacturers skipping good engineering practice. Head gaskets blowing, Lifter and valve train failures, wrist pin failures and use of ultra low viscosity oil. GM is facing millions in repairs of some V-8 engines and has told owners to increase the oil viscosity.
Not picking on GM: they all do it, but they made great, dependable engines 20+ years ago Thanks Government rainbows and unicorns.
6 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
stablemoney 7/25/2025 1:28:18 PM (No. 1982378)
CAFE standards, EV mandates, unions, DEI, and awful management, have finished off the manufacture of cars in the U.S. by GM and Ford.
1 person likes this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
crashnburn 7/25/2025 1:59:55 PM (No. 1982397)
Great news. Now kill CA's, CO's, and New York State's draconian emissions standards.
2 people like this.
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