Seemingly now more than ever, fuel economy is playing an important role in consumers' choices for new automobiles. With gas prices spiraling out of control across the world and no relief in sight, the U.S. government and many consumers are looking to the automotive industry to find ways to improve fuel economy in new vehicles. To do this, the automotive industry is in turn looking to the metalcasting industry for assistance. In 2001, lightweight cast components in passenger cars and light trucks saved more than 2.2 billion gallons of gasoline and reduced carbon dioxide (CO,) emissions by 20 million tons in the U.S. Aluminum, magnesium and other lightweight castings are facilitating the automotive industry's efforts to meet Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE.) Standards, which require manufacturers to comply with fuel economy mandates for passenger cars and light-duty truck fleets sold in the U.S. Congress set the standard at 27.5 miles per gallon (mpg) for automobiles and 20.7 mpg for light-duty trucks for model years produced after 1985.
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