BALTIMORE - The Bush administration issued new rules Wednesday ratcheting up gas mileage requirements for pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans, for the first time covering the largest SUVs on the road like the Hummer H2 and Chevrolet Suburban.
The new fuel economy rules, covering 2008 through 2011, would save 10.7 billion gallons of fuel over the lifetime of the vehicles sold during the period and go further than an administration proposal issued last summer, officials said
Under the CAFE system, automakers now must meet an average of 21.6 mpg for their 2006 model year light trucks. That average will rise to 22.2 mpg for 2007 vehicles.
Under the new rules, the fleetwide average would reach 24 mpg by 2011, when the largest SUVs will be included in the calculation.
The rule would include SUVs weighing 8,500 to 10,000 pounds for the first time starting in 2011, but would not include large pickup trucks in the weight class. DOT officials said they would require manufacturers to install fuel saving technology on all passenger trucks.
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