Jeremy Anwyl at Edmunds AutoObserver says:
“In a previous column, I raised the question of how consumers will react to a new generation of Corporate Average Fuel Economy-mandated high-tech, higher-mileage, smaller and less safe vehicles. This has stirred up some debate and is a question I will explore in more depth in future columns. For now, I will talk more fully about the issue of safety. Safety ties to the issue of CAFE, as it is believed that one of the ways that car companies will respond to higher fuel-economy standards is to reduce the weight of vehicles offered. Lower weight equates directly to higher mileage. The ways to accomplish a weight loss are to offer smaller vehicles or to build vehicles using lighter-weight materials (high tensile steel, aluminum and particularly carbon composites) – or to build vehicles employing a combination of smaller size and lighter materials. These materials offer real fuel savings, but they also raise a vehicle’s cost”
