Environmental groups contend that the fuel economy standards, known as CAFE standards, have not forced automakers to build cheap, unsafe cars but that the automakers have skimped on safety in the name of profits. It is the auto industry's choice to use auto technology how they choose. The fact of the matter is they make cheap cars and don't put safety in them. The death toll attributed to the CAFE standards is the centerpiece of a study, Deadly Effects of Fuel Economy Standards, put out by the Competitive Enterprise Institute. According to the study, the easiest way for automakers to increase the fuel efficiency of their fleet is to down size their cars.
Smaller cars lead to more fatal accidents.
But you can't argue with physics the bigger the car the safer it is. The CAFE standards arose in the mid-1970s as a response to the energy crisis. It was believed that fuel-efficient cars would help Americans conserve oil and reduce their dependence on foreign oil. While the standards have resulted in cars that are about 50 percent more fuel efficient than they were in 1975, they have done nothing to decrease America's dependence on foreign oil. About half of the oil consumed today is imported, up 35 percent from 1975, according to the Sustainable Energy Coalition.