Experts have already predicted that toughened fuel efficiency standards will lead to cleaner air and help wean the United States from its reliance on foreign oil. Turns out, they could benefit consumer’s wallets too.

That’s the conclusion of the Consumers Union and Consumer Federation of America, which briefed reporters on Jan. 12 in preparation for a series of three public hearings that begin today, January 17, in Detroit on the new 54.5 mile-per-gallon standard currently under government scrutiny. That is the fuel economy average the Obama Administration wants automakers to achieve by 2025. There are two more hearings this month, one in San Francisco and one in Philadelphia.

The two consumer organizations said the new standard will save the average driver approximately $3,000 over a decade of ownership. Both groups said they would endorse an agreement between the Obama administration and automakers to implement the new standard by 2025. But there is a lot of chatter in the auto industry about whether this is a standard that American car buyers are really interested in.

On one hand, 80 percent of consumers say they are interested in owning a hybrid or electric vehicle, according to a recent study by Consumer Reports. On the other, recent sales figures show they are buying an increasing amount of SUV and crossover vehicles as they get used to gas prices hovering around $3.50 per gallon for regular.

What gives?

In the context of what happens when automakers start producing vehicles that meet toughened fuel efficiency standards, that’s a multi-million dollar question. Some skittish industry insiders fear a gap will develop between what’s being sold and what customers want.

That’s not necessarily the case, says Dr. Mark Cooper, the director of research for the Consumer Federation of America. He said the 54.5 mpg standard won’t favor smaller vehicles.

“These standards have no bias against size,” he said Thursday. “If you want to buy a big vehicle, it will be there. It will have to be more fuel efficient, and that is exactly the point. People will still love their SUVs, and they’ll love them a lot more when they get 40 miles per gallon.”

Consumer groups back 54.5 mpg standard as hearings commence originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In a press conference on Wednesday in Tokyo, Toyota Motor Company’s president Akio Toyoda (grandson of the company’s founder) revealed new details of his plan to reform the automaker’s quality standards. Toyota has been beset by a trio of high-profile recalls, two of which involve unintended acceleration caused by either floormats or a sticking accelerator pedal and another having to do with the brakes on the 2010 Prius hybrid.

In addition to heading up what’s being called a Special Committee for Global Quality, Toyoda remarked that his company will also establish a “chief quality officer” for each geographical region in which the company’s vehicles are sold. Those officers will each have a seat on the committee led by Toyoda, which holds its first meeting March 30. New local technical offices will also be opened to help better investigate customer complaints, the goal reportedly being to have an on-site inspector there within 24 hours after a complaint is made.

In addition, Toyoda reaffirmed the automaker’s commitment to outfit all of its vehicles with a brake-override system. This system would prevent acceleration if the gas and brake pedals were applied at the same time. Finally, the Japanese automaker also plans to make better use of onboard data event recorders in its vehicles. Like the black box in an airplane, these devices record critical data the seconds before an accident happens.

His third time speaking to the press in less than two months, Toyoda also confirmed that he would not be attending a February 24 Congressional hearing before the House Oversight Committee. Instead, Yoshimi Inaba, president of Toyota’s operations in North America, will appear on behalf of Toyota to answer the U.S. government’s questions. This will be the second of four Congressional hearings related to Toyota’s recent recalls, and while Toyoda does not plan to attend any himself, he is planning a trip to the U.S. to speak directly with workers, dealers and suppliers.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req. | Image: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty]

Akio Toyoda outlines quality reform, won’t attend U.S. hearings originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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