Obama sets new fuel standards for heavy vehicles
Tuesday, August 9, 2011 at 11:59AM 
President Obama announced new fuel efficiency standards today for work trucks, buses, and other heavy vehicles, saying they will reduce fuel costs and better protect the environment.
The plan calls for reduction targets among three types of heavy vehicles: Big rigs or semis (up to 23%), heavy-duty pickups and cans (up to 10%), and diesel run vehicles (up to 15%).
The White House claims that the new standards will save American businesses who operate and own these commercial vehicles approximately $50 billion in fuel costs over the life of the program. The cost savings for American businesses are on top of the $1.7 trillion that American families will save at the pump from the historic fuel-efficiency standards announced by the Obama Administrations for cars and light duty trucks, including the model year 2017-2025 agreement announced by the President last month .
Under the new national program, trucks and buses built in 2014 through 2018 will reduce oil consumption by a projected 530 million barrels and greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution by approximately 270 million metric tons. Like the Administration's car standards, this program relies heavily on off-the-shelf technologies. It was developed in coordination with truck and engine manufacturers, fleet owners, the State of California, environmental groups and other stakeholders.
Vehicles are divided into three major categories:
- combination tractors (semi-trucks)
- heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans
- vocational vehicles (like transit buses and refuse trucks)
Within each of those categories, even more specific targets are laid out based on the design and purpose of the vehicle. This flexible structure allows serious but achievable fuel efficiency improvement goals charted for each year and for each vehicle category and type.
The standards are expected to yield an estimated $50 billion in net benefits over the life of model year 2014 to 2018 vehicles, and to result in significant long-terms savings for vehicle owners and operators.
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