The St. Paul Pioneer Press
WASHINGTON — Fire trucks and concrete mixers, semis, heavy-duty pickups and all trucks in between will, for the first time, have to trim fuel consumption and emissions of heat-trapping gases under new efficiency standards announced Tuesday by President Barack Obama.
The White House said the standards will save businesses billions of dollars in fuel costs, help reduce oil consumption and cut air pollution. The standards apply to vehicle model years 2014 to 2018.
Three categories are affected. Big rigs or semis will have to slash fuel consumption and production of heat-trapping gases by up to 23 percent. Gas-powered heavy-duty pickups and vans will have to cut fuel use by 10 percent, or by 15 percent with diesel fuel.
A 9 percent reduction is set for fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions for work trucks, which includes everything from fire trucks and concrete mixers to garbage trucks and buses.
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