Getting To 55 MPG : NPR

Getting To 55 MPG The Obama administration and major car manufacturers recently announced a new initiative to double Corporate Average Fuel Economy to 55 mpg by 2025. Reaching that goal will take not only feats of engineering but also changing how Americans think about cars.

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Getting To 55 MPG

By 2025, automakers fleets of vehicles must get an average of 55 mpg, nearly double what it is now.

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A Push To Make Gasoline Engines More Efficient

Professor Anna Stefanopoulou (left) examines a V8 internal combustion engine with students Jacob Larimore and Xinfan Lin at the University of Michigan's Automotive Research Center. The researchers model engine performance to improve efficiency. Courtesy Automotive Research Center hide caption

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Courtesy Automotive Research Center

A Push To Make Gasoline Engines More Efficient

November 23, 2011 • Technology exists for gas cars to get 55 miles per gallon — the fuel economy goal set by the Obama administration for the year 2025. But all the extra comforts consumers are used to — including automatic transmissions and power windows — can drive fuel economy down by half.

A Push To Make Gasoline Engines More Efficient

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Map: Hybrid And Electric Sales Across The Country

Map of hybrid and electric sales by market. NPR hide caption

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Map: Hybrid And Electric Sales Across The Country

November 22, 2011 • Hybrids and electrics account for less than 3 percent of all cars sold in the U.S. this year, but that ratio is higher in some areas. The San Francisco Bay Area leads the nation with 8.4 percent of all cars sold and the rest of the top 10 markets are also on the West Coast.

Automakers Set To Steer Customers To Hybrids

Attendees at the Los Angeles Auto Show look at the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid concept car. Toyota's Prius is the best-selling hybrid on the market, but almost every carmaker has some form of hybrid technology. Jae C. Hong/AP hide caption

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Jae C. Hong/AP

Automakers Set To Steer Customers To Hybrids

November 22, 2011 • Some auto executives say customers may not be ready for hybrids yet, but now it's time for the car companies to lead them there. For companies to meet new rules that will nearly double average fuel economy by 2025, hybrids will have to play a much bigger role than they do now.

Automakers Set To Steer Customers To Hybrids

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Timeline: The 100-Year History Of The Electric Car

Morris and Salom Electrobats are seen in front of the Old Metropolitan Opera House on 39th Street in the Manhattan borough of New York, 1898. Museum of Modern Art/AP hide caption

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Museum of Modern Art/AP

Timeline: The 100-Year History Of The Electric Car

November 21, 2011 • The electric car was just as popular as its gasoline counterpart when it first went into production around the turn of the 20th century. But with the advent of highways, people wanted to go farther than their battery life allowed. Today's electric cars face similar challenges.

Can Electric Cars Help Automakers Reach 55 MPG?

A Nissan Leaf charges at a station in Portland, Ore., that can recharge an electric car in 30 minutes. Electric cars could be an integral part of meeting 55-mpg fuel standards by 2025, but many consumers are put off by the vehicles' higher price and what some call "range anxiety." Rick Bowmer/AP hide caption

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Rick Bowmer/AP

Can Electric Cars Help Automakers Reach 55 MPG?

November 21, 2011 • Fuel-economy standards are set to double by 2025. Electric cars could help reach that goal, but consumers just aren't buying them on a large scale. Beloved by niche markets, the cars face similar challenges as when they first appeared over 100 years ago: a higher price than gas cars and concerns over battery life.

Can Electric Cars Help Automakers Reach 55 MPG?

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