PORTLAND — A Maine environmental group has issued a report showing how much money Mainers would save on gasoline costs for Thanksgiving travel if the average car met the new automobile mileage standards being proposed by the Obama administration.
The Obama administration last week unveiled a proposal to double fuel economy standards for cars and pickup trucks to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. Officials say doing so would likely cost automakers $157 billion, but would save drivers billions more at the pump.
The Environment Maine report used regional Thanksgiving travel projections released last week by AAA to estimate the following benefits over the holiday if the average car met a standard equivalent to 54.5 mpg:
— 283,000 fewer gallons of oil would be consumed in Maine.
— Mainers would save roughly $1 million at the gas pump – more than $15
per family.
— Mainers’ cars and light trucks would emit 2,700 fewer metric tons of global warming pollution.
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