From: rfriedel@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Ronald J Friedel)
Newsgroups: sci.environment,soc.culture.usa
Subject: Re: Cars and suburbs
Date: 26 Jan 1993 22:08:02 GMT
Organization: Computing Services Division, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
NNTP-Posting-Host: 129.89.7.4

In article <1993Jan26.193128.11337@CSD-NewsHost.Stanford.EDU> andy@SAIL.Stanford.EDU (Andy Freeman) writes:
>In article <1jsuiqINN8it@morrow.stanford.edu> silva@pangea.Stanford.EDU (Holly Silva) writes:
>>	Uh, hunh. Yoder's babbling again. Exactly where and how does
>>any government in America 'force people into trains'? By taking away
>>tax monies from the (heavily subsidized) American highways and re-direct-
>>ing them into public transit? I've yet to live anyplace where this is
>>occurring. 
>
>Silva is babbling again.  The "forcing" is by taxing auto users to pay
>for transit that isn't worth what it costs.  That prices some folks
>out of the market.  (It's a regressive effect, but that doesn't bother
>environmentalists.)
>
>-andy
>--

Let us start another thread

Recently there has been a series of discussions about automotive 
fuel economy on the sci and talk.environment newsgroups.  Some of 
this discussion was started when somebody posted a set of goals 
from some environmental group.  (Greenpeace, the Greens, Sierra 
Club, etc., ?).  I do know that the Sierra Club is pushing for a 
new CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standard of 45 miles per 
gallon.  The present standard is supposed to be about 27 miles per 
gallon.  In reality, this in nowhere near being met at this time.  

Why not, you ask?  There are too many non-cars being sold.  They 
do not have to meet the same standards that are applied to cars.
What are these non-cars?  They are the trucks, multi-purpose 
vehicles, & sport-utility vehicles that so many of us drive.  This 
includes the very popular mini van.  (I was looking at a mini van 
this morning in the dealer's lot.  EPA mileage numbers were 17 in 
the city and 23 on highway; in no way could that mini van get 27 
miles per gallon in average use.)

Here is a list of the top ten vehicle sellers, 1992.

     1.  Ford F-series pickup (truck)   488,539
     2.  Chevrolet C/K pickup (truck)   455,250
     3.  Ford Tarus (car)               409,751
     4.  Honda Accord (car)             393,477
     5.  Ford Explorer (truck)          306,681
     6.  Toyota Camry (car)             286,602
     7.  Ford Ranger (truck)            247,777
     8.  Dodge Caravan (truck)          244,149
     9.  Ford Escort (car)              236,622
     10. Honda Civic (car)              219,228
     
The car and truck classifications are my opinions.  The numbers 
add up as follows:
     1,739,396 trucks
     1,545,680 cars

I would suggest that the environmental groups should be demanding 
that the private vehicle fleet economy be 27 miles/gallon.  The 
vast majority of the privately driven trucks are being driven as 
cars, taking one person to work each day.

Looking at the list above, I can see two vehicles that have an EPA 
average (EPA City + EPA Highway)/2 > or = 27 miles/gallon.  Those 
probably are the Ford Escort and the Honda Civic.  Could any of 
you fill in the numbers for all ten vehicles on the list?  (Yes, I 
know it is complicated because of all the engine and transmission 
combinations but some  "ball-park" numbers could be found.)

Rather than demanding 45 mpg cars (or 60 to 100 mpg science 
projects) that few people would buy, we should be asking for a 
real CAFE standard of 27 mpg that applies to all vehicles in the 
private vehicle fleet.


Ron Friedel


-- 
Ron Friedel
GeoSciences  UW-Milwaukee
rfriedel@csd4.csd.uwm.edu