How will Saab meet the American fuel economy requirements (54 mpg/about 4.4 l/100km)?

[Dave T]

Obama unveils sharp increase in auto fuel economy - Yahoo! News
excerpts from article:

Obama unveils sharp increase in auto fuel economy
WASHINGTON/DETROIT (Reuters) - Several major automakers on Friday embraced the Obama administration's proposal to push the industry further away from once-dominant gas guzzlers to more lean and efficient vehicles.

The proposal, which is the result of months of negotiations between the Obama administration and automakers, would require automakers to reach an average fuel efficiency across their fleets of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.

To meet the new targets, automakers will have to cut weight from their vehicles, develop smaller engines and boost fuel efficiency through direct injection, start-stop technology and turbochargers.

The Center for Automotive Research projected bringing cars and trucks to a 56 miles per gallon CAFE standard would cost about $6,700 per vehicle. The study has been criticized for overestimating the cost of technologies.

"I have to really question the sanity behind that," Dennis Virag, president of Automotive Consulting Group Inc, said of the new CAFE standard. "It's going to be a very difficult mark to achieve and I think it's going to be very costly."

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I don't like start-stop technology. It can probably be improved but I hope it doesn't wear out the car. $6,700, I don't like.

How will Saab make a 54 mpg car? I think Saab probably already makes 34 mpg cars. If it has an electric car, that might count as 100 mpg. So it needs to sell 1/3 electric cars. Maybe it can rebadge a Nissan Leaf or Chevrolet Volt as the Saab 9-E and try to sell that? Maybe that and the hybrid 9-3 currently under development can provide 1/3 of Saab's American sales?

[SaabBoon]

15 years ago they probably thought it would be impossible to make a 30 MPG 185HP SUV... (Most were struggling to hit 20MPG)
And now we have a plethora to choose from.

Right now SEVERAL small cars are making 40 MPG where they were only making ~30 about 3-4 years ago... And that was on EASIER fuel economy EPA tests.

I dont think it will be difficult. There is a TON of weight that can be shed from most vehicles, battery technology is still in its infancy. Most vehicles are terribly non-aerodynamic. I say in 15 years it will be the norm to have a 40 MPG SUV and a 70MPG car.

High fuel costs are only going to continue to drive demand for more fuel efficient vehicles... So the private sector still needs to compete regardless. I laughed 6 months ago when fuel prices dropped and people were like "Thank God"... and SUV sales went back up.. And I was like, you know in 6 months, they're going to be over $4.00 again. Low and behold they are still way up there.
I dont think we will ever see fuel prices drop for an extended period of time in my lifetime. The rate of increasing Demand is still faster than rate of new production.

[J-Rod]

I'm going to hoard as many muscle cars, Land Rovers, and super cars I can afford before 2025.

[euromobile900]

I think I could build a car that gets 54mpg and accelerates/drives as well as my classic 900, with comparable cabin comfort levels. It would be fiberglass-bodied, with a tube-frame chassis and a motorcycle drivetrain. And carbs and points. This is caveman technology here, coming together in the garage of some schmuck with no formal training who learns everything via Google Search and the SAAB forums.

Luckily, it's been about 30 years since the dark ages when points and carbs were common. Getting 50mpg out of a diesel VW is easy, and the Ford EcoBoost engine is possibly the most advanced non-hybrid gasoline powerplant on the market today. I think they could get over 54mpg out of a 1.6L one of those transplanted into a 1960s Lotus body, and with its amazing horsepower figures, you get supercar-like acceleration as a side benefit. Put in the recently-announced 1.0L EcoBoost, and you've got the same hundred-ten-some horsepower of the original British Ford 1.6L N/A, but the mileage is substantially better still!
With that engine in a bloated 4-seat modern car with a CVT, you'll still keep up with traffic. I know because my c900 does. Installed in the Lotus, I can tell you, that amount of power feels downright dangerous.

Now imagine what car makers will be able to do with tomorrow's technology. We'll be fine, and we won't have to go electric or hybridize or sacrifice safety or handling or comfort or even our precious lead-footedness. As long as SAAB stays true to its history of innovation in engine management systems, it will be fine too.

Oh, and here's a crazy thought: What would we save in gas if we all just drove a little less ferociously?

[tunnanxwd]

Just look at the history of Chi Town Politics from whence Obama came, where the "art of the deal" is often in a brown bag sumudged with the blood of some poor sap who never saw it coming.

Now let's go back to the first "fuel crunch" of the 1970's and how that was going to change the world. We came out with CAFE, yep the formula method for Corporate Fleet Economy.

And the reality is sadly, that the very legislation that was supposed to save us created generations of flat out gas guzzlers that the world never saw the like of.

The loophole, yeah, preaching to the choir and all that is that .... if it is built on a truck frame it is a truck.

Yep, we created a generation of lipstick wearing gals with cell phones stuck in their ears sitting on Gucci leather seats in ... TRUCKS? I guess you could argue that they gave GM and Ford new life but that was not what was supposed to happen was it?

There is always a loophole. In this case it was big enough to drive a Hummer through it .. sideways.

[fiveiron]

I'm going to hoard as many muscle cars, Land Rovers, and super cars I can afford before 2025.

Me too. I'm really not a fan of the CAFE stuff. Just let automakers build the cars they think they can sell...then fuel economy standards will go up naturally without being forced.

If I can't buy a newer 400hp+ V8 Mustang in the years after I graduate college, I will be very unhappy. I've been drooling over the new Boss 302

EDIT: Actually, I hope I can buy a twin-turbo SAAB V8

[MarkCork]

I drive a 2006 9-5 diesel and on a long trip to Ballymena from Cork and back ( around 630 miles) I averaged 5.4 litres / 100 km. This converts to 43.5 miles per US Gallon in real driving. The MPG figure suggested by legislation is the overall average one stated on most car adverts and do not necessarily represent the efficiencies achieved in the real driving world.

Saab could build a car to get to achieve 54 mpg as a 2007 Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi diesel has regularly achieved 4.3l /100 kms for me. It just means that they have to make a lighter car with a smaller engine - but they could always add twin turbos to it to improve performance

[Shazam]

Also, just so you know, 54mpg standard isn't really 54mpg. You get "bonuses" for using certain technologies, or get cut slack in areas, and for other things. I can't remember what it is, but the 54mpg CAFE standard translates to somewhere to about 40mpg on the window-stick.

[Yamarocket630]

maybe it can rebadge a nissan leaf or chevrolet volt as the saab 9-e and try to sell that?

no no no no no no no!!!! No more rebadging! Saab must build their own cars! No automaker survives with rebadging.

[J-Rod]

no no no no no no no!!!! No more rebadging! Saab must build their own cars! No automaker survives with rebadging.

Seems like GMC has been pretty successful with it....they have not a single original product.

Not condoning rebadging, but just saying they're still around.