WASHINGTON (March 29, 2009) - The following is a statement by John McEleney, chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association, regarding the 2011 model year fuel economy standard:

“By setting a fuel economy standard higher than what California regulators have proposed, the Obama administration today removed the last argument for state-by-state regulation of fuel economy.  The structure of California's program - with its exemptions for major automakers, its 'patchwork' design and its loopholes - is unworkable as a national policy.
 
Only a single, national fuel economy standard gives the auto industry the regulatory certainty necessary to produce and market the fuel efficient cars of tomorrow.  In contrast, California's patchwork fuel economy program would exacerbate the auto sector's severe economic turmoil.

Now that the new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) law, passed by Congress in Dec. 2007, is at last being implemented, America's auto dealers call on all stakeholders, including the Obama administration and California regulators, to embrace a single, national fuel economy standard.”

CAFE is actually higher than CARB's standard.

The CAFE standard set by the Obama administration for model year 2011 is 27.3 mpg for the light duty fleet, which includes passenger cars and light trucks. Source: The Associated Press, March 27, 2009

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) standard for model year 2011 is 26.7 mpg for the light duty fleet, which includes passenger cars and light trucks. Source: CARB, Comparison of Greenhouse Gas Reductions for the United States and Canada Under U.S. CAFE Standards and California, An Enhanced Technical Assessment, Feb. 25, 2008, page 10.