SUVOA Available to Comment on New SUV Fuel Economy Standards

WASHINGTON, March 29 -- SUVOA, the national non-profit organization representing the rights of SUV and light truck owners, is available to discuss how the new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) structure and standards announced today by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration may affect consumers.

With gasoline at $2.50 a gallon, why does the government need to regulate fuel economy at all? If these standards require more than what market forces demand, it simply means consumers will be forced to accept tradeoffs they otherwise would not accept.

As always with the tortured history of CAFE the devil will be in how the details unfold down-the-road as the effects of restrictive fuel economy standards hit consumers. It took twenty years of CAFE before USA Today correctly analyzed it as "Death by the Gallon." Their conclusion, based on credible studies: about 50,000 highway deaths resulted from vehicle downsizing to save fuel.

The possible negative consequences of demanding what may not be technologically affordable are clear:

  * Higher vehicle costs that may not be recouped by savings at the pump;

  * Fewer vehicle and vehicle option choices, meaning some consumers' needs
    may be unmet; and/or

  * Downsizing of vehicles that history has shown leads to an increase in
    occupant injuries and deaths.

SUVOA is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to supporting the rights and serving the interests of 85 million SUV and light truck owners. For more information about SUVOA visit http://www.suvoa.com/.