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Remember way back when the Federal Government was pushing extremely hard and aggressive fuel efficiency standards on automakers? Environmentalists and consumers alike generally liked the new standards, and saw them as a big step forward.

Unfortunately, as is standard in Washington, there has been some reneging.

According to an article by Josh Mitchell and Sharon Terlep in the Wall Street Journal, White House officials are allowing auto makers to somewhat circumvent the fuel economy standards:

The White House is ready to let auto makers improve the future fuel efficiency of pickups and sport utility vehicles at a slower pace than passenger cars, say people familiar with the matter, a move that would benefit Detroit manufacturers. Officials are scrambling to reach by early next week a broad agreement on a mileage target by 2025 of 56 miles a gallon, roughly double the current level. The concession is an effort by the White House to overcome broad opposition to the mileage figure by auto makers, including General Motors Co., which is still partially owned by the U.S.

While it may appear that the U.S. Government is doing automakers a favor, Roland Hwang, in an article entitled Light Truck Loophole Bad for Pickup Drivers, Oil Dependency and Pollution, says it may actually do automakers more harm than good:

While the U.S. automakers may complain that equal treatment for light trucks is bad for their profits, the opposite is true. By allowing big pickups and other light trucks to lag behind, the Detroit 3 run the risk of falling back into the bad habit that lead them to their downfall — becoming too dependent on fuel-inefficient vehicles. Ford’s F-150 Ecoboost engine demonstrates that even big pickups can be more fuel efficient. The 40 percent purchase rate for the F-150 Ecoboost demonstrates that pickup buyers are willing to pay more to cut their gas bills. In fact, since light trucks generally lag behind the technology of their gasoline counterparts, these vehicles can improve at an even faster rate. Equal treatment for light trucks makes sense. It will save truck driver thousands of dollars over the life of their trucks, cut our dependency on oil, and ensure the U.S. automakers don’t fall back into their bad habits.

I can definitely see both sides of the issue, however, I have to side with Hwang. I think it is best to hold automakers’ entire fleet accountable to the new fuel economy standards, not just vehicles that are more apt to meet the standards. Oil and gasoline are only going to get more expensive, so the less we can use the better, both in terms of the environment and our bank accounts.

What do you think? Leave your comments below!

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