Bush administration defers CAFE decision to Obama

In a reversal on Bush's prior commitment to make a decision on the issue of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today revealed it will not make a decision before President-Elect Barack Obama takes office later this month. Proposed CAFE regulations on new cars would force fuel economy upward toward a goal of 35mpg fleet-wide by 2020. The debate exists on how to graduate the progression toward that goal. The NHTSA has proposed one avenue to raised standards, seeking a total of 25% improvement by 2015, but that would cost the industry about $47 billion over the five-year period, reports Automotive News.