The U.S. imports more oil now than when the standards were imposed. Emerging fuel technologies could make the original intent obsolete, not only by making it easier to recover oil from remote places, but also by converting plentiful fuels, such as natural gas, into clean-burning, competitively priced fuel. And new technology is making bigger, safer cars more fuel efficient. Developing and marketing small cars siphons billions of dollars from the auto industry. Small cars don't cost automakers much less to design, develop and manufacture than bigger, more-profitable vehicles.
Consumers pay, too.
Though small cars cost less, they also depreciate faster, so are worth relatively less at trade-in time. And collision insurance is more expensive. It's based on experience,'' spokesman Dave Hurst says. CAFE has been ''a bad mistake, one really bad mistake. Here to stay CAFE is resilient, although concern over its effect on small-car safety is neither new nor narrow.