Everyone who has purchased an automobile over the past 20 years and has kept that vehicle in good working order is part of a remarkable environmental success story -- the U.S. motor vehicle pollution control program.
What's Behind the Success Story -- Today emissions of harmful pollutants from new cars are a small fraction of those emitted from cars made in the 1960s. As a result, the air we breathe is much cleaner than it was 25 years ago. Of equal importance, these significant pollution reductions were accompanied by a dramatic increase in fuel economy. The centerpiece of this successful program was one of this century's great engineering and technical triumphs -- the catalytic converter.
Catalytic Converters Have Helped Reduce Auto Pollution -- Today's automobiles are meeting emission standards that require reductions of up to 97 percent for Hydrocarbons (HC), 96 percent for Carbon Monoxide (CO), and 90 percent for Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) compared to the pre-control levels emitted. Since 1975, catalyst-equipped motor vehicles have cut pollution (HC, CO and NOxcombined) by more than 1.5 billion tons in the U.S. alone. As a result, air quality nationwide has improved dramatically. All this progress in cleaning up the air occurred simultaneously with significant population growth, commercial and industrial expansion and a more than doubling of the number of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the U.S.
Challenges Remain -- Despite the enormous progress that has been made in reducing motor vehicle emissions, highway vehicles continue to be one of the primary contributors to air pollution in the U.S. In many cities, motor vehicles often are still the biggest contributor to urban smog. And in the next decade, the growth of VMT will begin to outpace the emission reductions achieved by vehicle turnover from older, dirtier vehicles to newer, cleaner ones.
The Driving Public Can Make a Difference -- In some areas of the country, as little as 10 percent of the automobiles in use contribute to as much as 50 percent of the pollution problem. These vehicles are typically very poorly maintained. The American driving public can help make a real contribution to clean air by properly maintaining and using their vehicles.
Undergoing a periodic emission inspection in areas which have inspection and maintenance (I/M) programs will help ensure that your car's emission control system is functioning properly. In addition, the U.S. EPA estimates that the type of maintenance needed to correct excess pollution problems can improve fuel efficiency by up to 15 percent. Even if you do not have inspection programs, regular preventative maintenance as recommended by the auto manufacturers will help keep your emission control system working effectively.
Under no circumstances should anyone tamper with their emission control systems. Not only is it against the law, but with today's sophisticated automobile technology, emission controls have been optimized to maximize fuel economy and performance. Tampering will not only greatly increase harmful pollution, but fuel economy and performance will likely suffer as well.
For more information contact:
Manufacturers of Emission Controls Association
1660 L Street NW, Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 296-4797
Fax: (202) 331-1388
