So, What Do The Automakers Think Of CAFE's 54.5 MPG By 2025 Decision?

We all know that last week CAFE weighed in and reduced its mpg requirements from 60 to 54.5 by 2025. This of course makes things a little easier for the automakers, who have to somehow figure a way out to get their fleet average that high, but we have to think about the ramifications of this action:

1) Will they be able to do it?

2) Does anyone even want cars that get that kind of mpg? (Think: Volt/Leaf sales aren't electrifying -- no pun intended)

3) What are the automakers thinking of this move?

Well, they've weighed in and the opinions are really varied.

Take, for example, Hyundai who is shaking it off as essentially a piece of cake. On the other hand, Volkswagen is expressing serious distaste by saying "[Volkswagen] does not endorse the proposal under discussion."

**If you want some more color on WHICH automakers feel WHAT, click "Read Article"

After months of hand-wringing by industry lobbies and environmental groups, President Obama announced the new round of Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards, known as CAFE, on Friday in Washington. The standards call for a 5 percent annual increase in fuel economy for passenger cars from 2017 to 2025, culminating in a mandated 54.5 miles per gallon.

Creating the new CAFE round involved the participation of major car manufacturers in the United States, a process that, while fraught at times, ended with a near-unanimous, if somewhat meek, embrace of the tough new standards...