Higher fuel economy standards get effect for 2012 models

The 2012 new car models are shipping previously, lead by the 2012 Ford Focus scheduled to reach your destination at dealerships this month.

These are the first new cars that have to obey with new, stricter fuel economy standards passed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2009. The changes are the first major raise in fuel economy standards for cars as the requirements at first took effect in the 1970s. Automakers are predictable to take on a wide range of technologies to meet the new targets, as well as direct injection, continuously variable transmissions, hybrid systems, and plug-in electric cars.

The new standards need a new-car Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) of average 33.3 mpg this year and light trucks to average 25.4, for an overall average of 29.7 mpg. These standards are planned to ramp up all the way to 34.1 mpg overall by 2016.

Under the new system, each automaker has an independent fuel economy goal to meet, based on the types and sizes of vehicles it plans to create. But on average, the new standards are supposed to raise overall fuel economy by 16 percent this year and by a third by 2016.

These fuel economy developments are supposed to keep 61 billion gallons of fuel and decrease carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 654.7 million metric tons, according to NHTSA.

The chart above shows how the necessities ramp up throughout 2016, not counting some loopholes and credits offered to the automakers.