cafes

After more than a year of negotiations between government agencies, auto manufacturers, and other interested groups such as the United Auto Workers, the Obama administration has finalized rules that will raise the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) to 54.5 mpg by 2025.

The administration had already set aggressive targets, previously calling for a CAFE of 35.5 mpg by 2016. As new advances in fuel-saving technologies showed that this target could easily be met, rules were drafted for the higher mark.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation devise the formula by which CAFE is calculated. The … Read more

Apple fans have long had plenty of outlets for displaying their brand loyalty, perhaps most noticeably through Apple logo stickers on the back windows of their Subaru Foresters. Now Windows Phone fans can get in on the nerd pride action with clothes and accessories from the online Windows Phone Gear Store.

The Windows Phone logo done up in the style of an "I heart..." message is available on everything from a large Thermos bottle to an infant bodysuit. You can never be too young for brand loyalty. … Read more

The Obama administration today announced higher efficiency standards that will bring fuel-saving techniques to more medium and heavy-duty trucks.

The White House this morning introduced the set of rules saying they will save $50 billion in fuel costs from 2014 to 2018. The efficiency measures will reduce oil imports during that period by 530 million barrels and cut greenhouse gas emissions by about 270 million tons, according to the White House.

There will be two sets of standards, with one requiring engine manufacturers to increase efficiency and another geared at the fuel economy of trucks in different categories, such as … Read more

Is there a time and a place for laptop use? And should the place never be Starbucks at any time?

It seems that staff at some Starbucks in New York have had enough of those who spend their days using the home of the troubled croissant as their permanent place of work.

The Starbucks Gossip site (which I don't read, but Gawker does) was the first to offer that certain Starbucks were covering up their AC outlets, so that customers would have to rely on their laptop batteries, rather than the company's power supply.

A poster named Mike Pollock, … Read more

The stringent fuel economy standards announced today will make existing auto technologies, such as start-stop hybrids, commonplace and push the industry to cut the cost of electric vehicles.

President Obama today unveiled new corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards which will require automakers to achieve an average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. The national agreement, which builds on a landmark compromise deal from 2009, will reduce oil imports, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and save consumers on average $8,000 per vehicle by 2025, the White House said in a statement.

The new standards are considered aggressive--the average … Read more

The debt debate may be grabbing all the headlines, but another debate has been taking place in Washington over the last few years. Under the Obama administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been hammering out an agreement with automakers and the state of California for a new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard. Today the EPA announced that a CAFE of 54.5 mpg will be required by 2025, nearly doubling current fuel economy standards.

Automakers such as Ford, GM, Chrysler, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, and Toyota signed onto the agreement. The standards call for a CAFE of … Read more

The White House and automakers are expected to announce an agreement tomorrow to raise the fuel economy for vehicles, paving the way for a steady increase in mileage ratings.

According to published reports, a compromise has been largely worked out between the White House and automakers to set efficiency standards from 2017 to 2025. The agreement would require mileage to average 54.5 miles per gallon for passenger cars and light trucks by 2025, according to a Washington Post report.

It's a significant step up from the 2016 level where cars and light trucks must average 31.4 miles … Read more

WASHINGTON--Automakers say the Obama administration appears not to be wedded to the 56.2-mpg target for 2025 it floated last week and may be open to other refinements.

The manufacturers are pushing for a single national program, while expressing concern in private talks with the White House that the standard may be too tough.

They are arguing that no decisions should be made until new forecasts of manufacturers' technology, costs, and sales become available.

Environmental advocates who had been calling for a 62-mpg standard expressed support last week for a target of 56.2 mpg, or annual increases of 5 … Read more

Raising federal fuel economy standards to as high as 56 mpg in the 2025 model year would yield fuel savings to consumers that more than offset higher vehicle prices, a new study found.

But lifting corporate average fuel economy to 62 mpg would result in vehicle price increases that exceed fuel savings over a five-year period, according to the nonprofit Center for Automotive Research.

The report highlights room for compromise on the Obama administration's preliminary proposal to raise CAFE to between 47 mpg and 62 mpg from the 2017 to 2025 model years.

Environmental groups have pushed for 62 … Read more