The government is considering redefining what is a truck and what is a car. The difference will affect the federal fuel economy standards. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Transcript
The government is considering redefining what is a truck and what is a car. The difference will
affect the federal fuel economy standards. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham
reports:
Fuel economy standards for light trucks are less restrictive than they are for cars. The auto
industry takes advantage of the rules regarding the definitions to make vehicles you might think
of as a car fall under the less restrictive light truck fuel economy standards. For example, the
popular Chrysler P-T Cruiser qualifies as a light truck. The New York Times published a report
indicating the Bush administration is looking to further change the definitions. Environmentalists
are concerned.
Daniel Becker is with the Sierra Club.
“You can redesign to either save more gas or guzzle more gas. Our fear is that the Bush
administration, responding to their friends in the auto industry and the oil industry, will instead
decide that we need to guzzle more gas.”
The Bush administration is reported to be considering the changes to achieve greater fuel
economy, but some environmental groups remain skeptical.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.