"The overriding issue that must be addressed now is how the necessary emission reductions and fuel economy improvements can most efficiently and effectively be achieved," Michael Stanton, AIAM CEO said in a release.
"We strongly believe that a single national program to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from, and improve the fuel economy of, motor vehicles is the only sensible approach, with EPA, NHTSA, California and other states and localities playing important complementary roles."
Today, a new meeting takes place in LA under the guidance of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), to establish the guidelines for the new CAFE standard.
According to AIAM, the most important factor for the creation of the new standard is to create adequate lead times into the rule making.
"Such flexibility is of critical importance for manufacturers that must make the necessary design changes while continuing to meet consumer preferences and market demand. Implementing these comprehensive changes is a difficult undertaking under any circumstances but is particularly difficult in the current economic environment."
The new CAFE standard proposes a five percent improvement in fuel economy, 950 million metric tons reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and the preservation of some 1.8 billion barrels of oil and is aimed at light-duty vehicles model year 2012 through 2016.
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