A Cleaner Automobile

President Barack Obama sets new car and truck efficiency standards aimed at reducing oil consumption and greenhouse gas emissions

The cars on America's roadways are about to change.

From the White House Rose Garden yesterday, President Barack Obama outlined his plan to make America's cars more fuel-efficient and more eco-friendly.

The President was joined in the Rose Garden by the leaders of 10 car companies, the President of the United Auto Workers union, and both Democrat and Republican lawmakers.

"For the first time in history, we have set in motion a national policy aimed at both increasing gas mileage and decreasing gas pollution for all new trucks and cars sold in the United States of America," Obama said.

Obama said he wants the average fuel efficiency for America's cars and trucks to be 35.5 miles per gallon (mpg) by the year 2016. Currently, the average is 25 mpg.

Fuel efficiency measures how many miles a car can travel on one gallon of gasoline. So if a car has a fuel efficiency rating of 25 mpg, that means it can travel 25 miles on one gallon of gas.

By increasing fuel efficiency, America's drivers will use 1.8 billion fewer barrels of oil and eliminate approximately 900 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2016. That's equal to taking 58 million cars off the road for a year.

But the President's plan will mean increased costs for both car buyers and carmakers.

Car buyers can expect prices of new cars to increase by $1,300 by the year 2016. This is because carmakers will need to spend more money to develop new technologies.

He was quick to add that the money saved by using less fuel will more than make up for the increased cost of a new car. He said that the typical driver would save $2,800 over the life of the vehicle.

Leaders of America's car industry are happy with the President's plan.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ford, Alan Mulally, said he was "absolutely pleased" with the plan Obama laid out. And General Motors (GM) CEO Fritz Henderson said it "will benefit consumers across America."

"Energy security and climate change are national priorities that require federal leadership, and the President's direction makes sense for the country and the industry," Henderson said.