NHTSA Publishes Final Model Year 2004 CAFE Standard for Light Trucks |
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National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
April 1, 2002
NHTSA 20-02
Monday, April 1, 2002
Contact: Tim Hurd
Tel. No. (202) 366-9550
The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today issued a final rule for Model Year 2004 light truck Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. The final rule sets the Model Year 2004 light truck standard at 20.7 mpg, the same level that is now in effect.
Under federal law, NHTSA must issue a final rule setting a Model Year 2004 light truck CAFE standard by April 1, 2002. NHTSA, however, could only begin examining fuel efficiency standards after a six-year long statutory prohibition was lifted in December 2001. Given this time constraint, NHTSA lacked sufficient time to complete its research and lay the factual and analytical foundation needed to change the existing standard.
The Bush administration supports increasing fuel economy by encouraging new technologies that would reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil while protecting passenger safety and American jobs.
To acquire information it needs to develop a proposal later this year for light truck CAFE standards beginning in Model Year 2005, NHTSA issued a Request for Comment in the Federal Register on February 7. NHTSA plans to cover some or all of the model years 2005 to 2010 in its rulemaking proposal. NHTSA has also requested comments on possible changes to the overall CAFE program for both passenger cars and light trucks, including those recommended by the National Academy of Sciences in July 2001. The comment period for this Request for Comment will close on May 8.
The final rule for Model Year 2004 light trucks is available to the public in the DOT Docket (Docket Number NHTSA 11048). The Request for Comment is also available to the public in the DOT Docket (Docket Number NHTSA 11419). Both the rule and Request for Comment are posted on the Internet and can be viewed after searching at http://www.nhtsa.gov/exit.cfm?Link=http://dms.dot.gov/.
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