What do the new CAFE standards mean for the Z?

theDreamer · 05-30-2009, 03:53 PM

I do not think Nissan and the Z will go away (unless sales fall off). Nissan does not have many hybrids yet and could easily throw that into the mix on a few cars and boost the CAFE rating up. Plus I could see them dropping a car or two and creating a tighter line up.

dad · 05-30-2009, 06:11 PM

There will always be youth! There for, there will always be horse power and speed!

FlashBazbo · 09-09-2009, 03:29 PM

Update: It appears that there's CAFE and then . . . there's NEW CAFE!! (This could be good news or bad news, depending on how politically astute Nissan is at the time and/or how much you really wanted fuel economy to improve.)

Under the NEW CAFE, trucks and cars will receive individual testing regimen (NOT standardized) which make allowances for the intended use of the vehicle. Trucks and luxury cars will be given certain "allowances." The testing regimen will be NEGOTIATED by the manufacturer and will be different than the window sticker MPG listings. And the NEW CAFE regimen will be run without air conditioning, without temperature variances, using extremely gradual acceleration. In short, it will have NOTHING to do with real-world MPG or even window-sticker MPG.

The word I heard from one of the administrators was, "It is entirely possible that today's 370Z could be rated at 35 mpg for NEW CAFE purposes. We fully expect that a large car or pickup rated at 26 real-world highway mpg will be negotiated into a 35 mpg NEW CAFE rating."

In other words, NEW CAFE isn't as much about engineering as it is about lobbying. If you really care about fuel economy, it's an illusion. Just a political game.

05-30-2009, 03:53 PM	#1 (permalink)
theDreamer A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 30,879 Drives: 370z Rep Power: 4211	I do not think Nissan and the Z will go away (unless sales fall off). Nissan does not have many hybrids yet and could easily throw that into the mix on a few cars and boost the CAFE rating up. Plus I could see them dropping a car or two and creating a tighter line up. __________________ theDreamer's Z // Fast Intentions // Uprev // GTM // HKS // TEIN theDreamer's Silvia // URAS // GREDDY Houston Zs // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram

05-30-2009, 06:11 PM	#2 (permalink)
dad Grand Prix of Endurance Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Tennessee Posts: 3,476 Drives: Mulsanne Straight Rep Power: 26	There will always be youth! There for, there will always be horse power and speed! __________________ We can do without any article of luxury we have never had; but once obtained, it is not in human nature to surrender it voluntary.

09-09-2009, 03:29 PM	#3 (permalink)
FlashBazbo Base Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Middle Tennessee Posts: 97 Drives: '09 370Z T-SP-7AT Rep Power: 0	Update: It appears that there's CAFE and then . . . there's NEW CAFE!! (This could be good news or bad news, depending on how politically astute Nissan is at the time and/or how much you really wanted fuel economy to improve.) Under the NEW CAFE, trucks and cars will receive individual testing regimen (NOT standardized) which make allowances for the intended use of the vehicle. Trucks and luxury cars will be given certain "allowances." The testing regimen will be NEGOTIATED by the manufacturer and will be different than the window sticker MPG listings. And the NEW CAFE regimen will be run without air conditioning, without temperature variances, using extremely gradual acceleration. In short, it will have NOTHING to do with real-world MPG or even window-sticker MPG. The word I heard from one of the administrators was, "It is entirely possible that today's 370Z could be rated at 35 mpg for NEW CAFE purposes. We fully expect that a large car or pickup rated at 26 real-world highway mpg will be negotiated into a 35 mpg NEW CAFE rating." In other words, NEW CAFE isn't as much about engineering as it is about lobbying. If you really care about fuel economy, it's an illusion. Just a political game.