EPA issues first-ever fuel efficiency and emissions standard proposal for heavy-duty vehicles

Filed under: Truck, Government/Legal, Work, Specialty, Diesel

As expected, the EPA has released its first-ever proposal for greenhouse gas and fuel efficiency standards for heavy-duty vehicles. The proposal, and that's all it is at this point, would create three new categories for heavy trucks: combination tractors, heavy-duty pickups and vans, and vocational vehicles. The rules will cover on-road vehicles with a gross vehicle weight at or above 8,500 pounds, unless these vehicles are already covered under CAFE. All of these proposals would start with the 2014 model year and make some big improvements relatively soon. The EPA is working with the DOT and NHTSA on the joint standards, which will have two types of metrics.

• For pick-ups and vans, the metric will be gram per mile (and gallon per 100-miles) based on payload.
• For vocational vehicles and combination tractors, the standards are gram per ton-mile (and gallon per 1,000 ton-mile).

Each of the three categories has different targets.

• Combination tractors (commonly known as semi trucks) would get new engine and vehicle standards and, according to the EPA, "achieve up to a 20 percent reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and fuel consumption by 2018 model year," compared to a 2010 baseline.
• Heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans would fall under emissions rules that are similar to the rules that govern light-duty trucks and passenger cars. There would be separate gasoline and diesel standards that would, "achieve up to a 10 percent reduction for gasoline vehicles and 15 percent reduction for diesel vehicles by 2018 model year (12 and 17 percent respectively if accounting for air conditioning leakage)."
• For vocational vehicles, the proposed standards would reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions up to 10 percent by 2018 model year.

(This post continues after the jump.)

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EPA issues first-ever fuel efficiency and emissions standard proposal for heavy-duty vehicles originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2010/10/25/epa-issues-first-ever-fuel-efficiency-and-emissions-standard-pro/

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