Taxing Small Cars To Improve MPG
US fuel economy regulations, known as CAFE standards, inadvertently incentivize manufacturers to produce larger, less fuel-efficient vehicles. The current system calculates target MPG based on a vehicle's "footprint" (size), meaning smaller cars face stricter, harder-to-meet targets. This has led companies like Honda to discontinue smaller models, such as the Fit, and replace them with larger ones like the HR-V, which have lower MPG targets and thus incur fewer penalties. AI
