Fuel Economy Rules Likely to Stay Put Until 2005

Government regulators are unlikely to increase federal fuel economy guidelines for light trucks before the 2005 model year, the nation's top automobile regulator told lawmakers on Dec. 6. Jeffrey Runge, director of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), told lawmakers that his agency, which oversees the corporate average fuel economy program (CAFE), would not be able to sift through reams of scientific data in time to set a new fuel economy level for the 2003 or 2004 model years.