Now is the time to reduce the nation’s tragic dependence on oil, to cut harmful asthma- and cancer-causing vehicle emissions, and to save consumers money by enacting meaningful fuel economy requirements for the nation’s cars, SUVs, minivans and trucks.

Under the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program, manufacturers’ fleetwide fuel economy averages for cars and light trucks are measured against a federal fuel economy standard for each category of vehicles. The fuel economy of the U.S. Vehicle fleet peaked in 1988 and has been swiftly declining ever since, due to in large measure to the billions of dollars spent by the auto industry over the past decade in marketing SUVs.

In the absence of meaningful fuel economy standards, automakers have also been free to use gains in engine efficiency to increase the size and weight of the heaviest, largest vehicles, with devastating consequences for the safety of occupants and others on the road.