The 54.4 mpg milestone: How will new 2025 CAFE standards affect you?

With demanding new CAFE standards set to hit in 2016 and now 2025, how will these new mpg milestones affect you?

Earlier this week, new regulations regarding Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for 2025 were passed after much wrangling between politicians and automakers.

These new standards, which have been mandated by the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will require automaker’s vehicles (both cars and light trucks) to achieve an average 54.4 miles per gallon by 2025.

At first glance, the mandate from the EPA and DOT seems like a rather large target to hit in a particularly short amount of time. Even the most fuel efficient gasoline vehicles struggle to approach that figure, with only a few hybrid-electric vehicles coming close. Needless the so say, the idea that larger trucks and sedans will be able to match the government’s mandate is something we’re equally skeptical and excited to see. In all likelihood automakers are going to have to put in a lot of effort and resources in order to achieving this.

Regardless of what this might mean for the likes of Ford, Volkswagen, Toyota, Honda, GM, their designers, and their engineers. What do the new CAFE standards spell for you? As it turns out, quite a lot.

In order to illustrate how the new standards will affect the average driver, we have laid out four ways in which increasing CAFE standards will likely affect the most important person. You.

Pay less at the pump

As you might have already guessed, the first major benefit to increased CAFE standards will be a reduction in how much you pay at the pump. While it’s a harsh reality that gas prices continue to climb, drop, and climb back up again, (and let’s be honest: that trend is unlikely to stop anytime soon) the tradeoff is that with greater fuel economy comes a lower premium paid at the pump. More miles mean fewer trips to the gas station.

Is it 2025 yet? Well, no, but that doesn’t mean we won’t be reaping the benefits from now until then. The year 2025 might be 13 years away, but as automakers gradually ramp up fuel economy in the coming years, expect those savings to start piling up as well. But won’t car prices increase as well? That is true, though the cost of new cars is expected to rise by roughly $1,800 to meet the new demands, it is estimated that drivers could save $8,000 in gasoline costs during the life of their vehicle.

Superior cars

Although somewhat of a no-brainer, in order for cars to reach greater levels of fuel economy, they are simply going to have to get better and more efficient. Some of these improvements, like the recent trend to use smaller engine displacements with turbocharging, have helped with fuel economy, but that won’t be the end of it.

If automakers are truly going to reach the standard set forth by the EPA and DOT then they are going to have to improve aspects of future models across the board. That means we’ll start seeing stronger, more lightweight materials, improved aerodynamics, and even newer, more exciting technology creeping in.

Job creation

With all the research and development it will take to steadily increase the average fuel economy for each automaker, it’s safe to reason that more jobs will be created to accommodate new parts and technology into the existing automotive framework. How many new jobs? Recent research from the National Resource Defense Council estimates as many as 570,000 new jobs could be created as a result of the new government regulations.

A wealth of options

The automotive market is both vast and varied. There are cars sitting on a lot right now that will cater to, and fit, your lifestyle needs with little trouble. However, for those hunting for a truly fuel-efficient vehicle, one that encroaches on the impending CAFE standards of the future, that choice remains rather limited. You can purchase a gasoline hybrid, like a Toyota Prius, a plug-in hybrid such as the Chevrolet Volt, or forgo gasoline altogether with a battery-electric car like a Nissan Leaf.

But what if your automotive needs go beyond a small-to-midsized hatchback? Currently, there are many segments that lack diesel, hybrid, or all-electric drivetrains. With the eventual increase in CAFE standards, don’t be surprised to see an all-electric pickup or even a hybrid drivetrain make its way into an FRS-styled sportscar. Bottom line, there will be a lot more to choose from, and that’s going to be great.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Mixed messages: After API lockdowns, Twitter announces Bootstrap 2.1

After a tense announcement and even tenser silence from Twitter regarding stricter API regulations, developers were told last week what exactly would be happening. To summarize, apps seen as Twitter client alternatives are being targeted; they can only grow to so many users, they can only make so many API calls, and they can only know so much. The biggest take away from the announcement was that Twitter is erring toward the vague, keeping its cards as close to the chest as possible, and that developers will have to play a bit of a guessing game to keep the company happy.

The sentiments from third-party Twitter developers about all this range from slighted to outraged. Which is why, in light of the recent changes and Twitter’s tsk-tsk tone, its latest announcement is a bit of a surprise. Yesterday Twitter unveiled Bootstrap 2.1, its open source framework for Web developers.

“With Bootstrap 2.1, we focused on simplicity. We completely overhauled the documentation to make it easier for people just getting to know Bootstrap and Web development,” Twitter explains via blog post. “We placed more emphasis on live examples and succinct, thorough text to walk people through each aspect. And, as is the case with every release, we’ve added a handful of new features and made existing ones even better. But that just brushes the surface: we’ve closed over 100 issues in Bootstrap 2.1 – issues all reported and documented by the very folks who use it.”

There are a lot of very pro-developer messages Twitter’s sending with this post. From talking about how “amazed” the team is by what Boostrap has been used to do (mentioning this NASA project, the Rdio powered SoundReady, and the Digital Government initiative from the White House) and pointing out how much the Bootstrap community means to its growth, this is a well-timed announcement on Twitter’s part.

In reality, Bootstrap was built by two head Twitter developers, but it’s a development tool for the open Web – not for Twitter. It has GitHub to thank for much of its popularity and growth as well. It’s affiliated by Twitter, which gave its developers the resources they needed to build it. There’s no mistaking that Bootstrap has become a very important platform, and that Twitter’s to thank for its origins. But don’t confuse what’s happening here as a change of heart for its own platform’s outside devs.

The details surrounding the API changes remain fuzzy, though decidedly far more strict than when the site first launched. Twitter remains incredibly active regarding the open source Web movement, however, and it’s quite possible there are conflicting ideas about how to run the platform within the company – engineers and board members aren’t always going to see eye-to-eye, and making money and making a platform aren’t always going to line up. 

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com