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China's Fuel Efficiency Kicks America's Butt

Posted by Dr. Joseph Romm, Climate Progress at 12:04 PM on March 25, 2008.


Not a single U.S.-made car meets China's fuel standards.
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The Toronto Star reported an alarming factoid earlier this month:

No gasoline-powered car assembled in North America would meet China's current fuel-efficiency standard.

That's mainly because:

  1. Their standard is much higher than ours is currently.
  2. Their standard is a minimum-allowable efficiency standard, not a "fleet-average" standard like ours.
  3. Our lame car companies don't make their (relatively few) most efficient vehicles in this country.

As for our much-hyped new 35-mpg (average) standard -- it will take us in 2020 to where the Chinese are now (but not even to where Japan and Europe were six years ago). If we don't rescind it, that is. So whether you believe in human-caused global warming or peak oil, America remains unprepared to capture the huge explosion in jobs this century for clean, fuel-efficient cars.

Oh, and by 2010, China will be the world leader in wind turbine manufacturing and solar photovoltaics manufacturing. No worries, though, our TV and movie sales overseas still kick butt. For now.


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Only in Europe
Posted by: Melvin on Mar 25, 2008 7:33 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
On a trip to Europe last fall I was driven around in a well specified Peugeot with a 2.7 ltr diesel twin turbo engine that attained 55 mpg (imperial).The performance of the vehicle was very good.
Another friend drove me around in a Citroen,diesel, again with good performance that attained 65 mpg (imperial.
We had to drive about five miles to find a gas station! The gas station sold regular gas (92 octane) & diesel ;two pumps! thats it!
Interestingly there were few 'Smart cars' & few Hybrids.
Even on the motorways(freeways) many gas stations had closed likley through lack of business. Altogether a different & more fuel efficient world. My friends were aghast when I said my Chev 1/2ton could achieve 24 mpg / highway. I would like to see a Chevvy truck with a turbo diesel engine at a reasonable price but I won't hold my breath. the sad thing is that in Europe the Dodge Caravan & Jeep are available with turbo diesel engines!

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» RE: Only in Europe Posted by: saltoafronteira
unlimited growth
Posted by: toddcory on Mar 26, 2008 5:49 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
This is just another sign that 'murica has some very hard lessons ahead.

One would assume that something as logical as the fact that unlimited growth cannot happen on a finite planet would be commonplace, but many still foolishly think this consumption party will never end. For the time being more is better and bigger is still better... while we dig a deeper hole to climb out of.

The science clearly indicates we are destroying our ecosystem and that the days of cheap energy are now behind us. One wonders how dire things will need to get before selfish, greedy, brain dead 'muricans wake up to the wisdom of living lean and green?

Interesting times....

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Do Chinese cars meet their standard?
Posted by: JimH on Mar 26, 2008 5:53 AM   
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I wonder if the cars they manufacture themselves meet the standard? And what is their standard, anyway?

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Chinaman
Posted by: swamiji on Mar 26, 2008 7:27 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
'No worries, though, our TV and movie sales overseas still kick butt'

But I thought they just illegally copied all our media (movies, music) and sold it anyway? So they're not really paying us for much of anything! But I hear the Chinese are sure buying a lot...of formerly American-owned companies...

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ITS SIMPLE REALLY
Posted by: fearn on Mar 26, 2008 8:58 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Oil companies and car companies make more money when they push big gas guzzlers.
The former head of GM made it very clear, "we're not here to make cars, we're here to make money".
You want to help them make more money then keep buying those gas guzzlers!

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bear in mind
Posted by: BlueBerry PickN on Mar 26, 2008 12:30 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
car companies bought up Light rail transit & closed it to ensur that the CAR market expanded with teh urban & suburban footprint over farmland.

this from the same ethics that brought us the US Foreign & Domestic Policies desihned to support exporting slavery,post Civil War industries protections
(cotton, tobacco, sugar - all slave industries that were exported)

On Ethics, Culture & Intention...




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manufacturing?
Posted by: zorro on Mar 26, 2008 7:59 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
This may be true, but this does say--'manufacturing'--much of what China manufactures is exported, and seldom used withinn China. Much of the manufacturing is Western owned--China is but a Export platform for the West. That being said, I do hope they are implementing this technology--but I don't see near me yet! China is the most polluted country on earth--i dont care what any polls and obscure statistics say--live here, witness the destruction. Despite what I have just said, they did recently improve fuel standards and I applaud them--it is very much needed. The sad thing is--does America need to reach the kind of environmental degredation that China has in order to affect change? If so, it will be far too late!

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China? Wha' do dey know, MF?
Posted by: monkeywrench on Mar 26, 2008 9:15 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Let's not forget that, though China's automobile fuel efficiency standards make us look backward, they are building dozens and dozens of new coal-fired power plants AND adding 5 MILLION new cars to their roads (and the world's atmosphere) every year. I'm not sure what level of fuel efficiency would offset their hell-bent-for-leather charge to U.S.-style consumerism, but I'd bet it's more than 45 miles per gallon.

However, while they position themselves to become the supplier of alternative energy hardware for the REST of the world, we'll continue to do what we do best: export, through our various media outlets, uniquely american qualities, such as religious fundamentalism, trailer-trash "reality" shows, pop culture, crass consumerism, violent video games, rap music, and gang culture.

It's nice to know that there are still a few things left in the world that we do better than anybody else.

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Demonizing
Posted by: vsong on Mar 27, 2008 11:59 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Sometimes people just can't not look beyond the fact that they have been brainwashed to demonize others, in this case China, in order to gloss over their own mistakes.

So many people question and doubt the efficacies of China's green plan but misses out on the argument entire. It isn't about what they can do better than you but what WE should ALL do to help alleviate the problems of climate change.

This finger pointing exercises are just like the white house pointing finger at China while continuing screwing the environment in their own backyard. Affluenza is a problem for many countries and more sincerely so for the states.

I say stop pointing your fingers and wake up to your mistakes soon before you screw the entire planet up for all of us.

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Robert Felix
Posted by: Felis Catus on Mar 28, 2008 6:26 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
We noted that the article said OUR fuel efficiency requirements are @35 miles per gallon, but the article did NOT say what a comparable car sold on mainland China would have in miles per gallon compared to what Detroit sells and we can now buy. Why can't "these" automobiles made for the Chinese market be imported AS IS and sold here in the USA? If the American people were aware that a better fuel efficient alternative existed and was commercially available, would this place economic pressure on US automakers to offer similar vehicles to us? As to possible further increases in fuel efficiency, look on the US Patent Office website at Patent Class 123(Carburettors) subclass 122(Heat Exchange Vapourisers) An example of such a patent is USP#4611567.

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