With the announcement today that cars and light trucks will be expected to achieve an average Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) of 54.5 mpg by 2025, the impact will be felt in many ways.

Yes, it will lessen our dependence on foreign oil. Yes, it will help clean up the environment, especially as more automakers build hybrid and electric vehicles in response. Yes, drivers will ultimately use less fuel, which means fewer dollars spent at the pump for consumers. But that comes at a price - a price that needs to be addressed.

If less fuel is purchased, that means fewer dollars in gas taxes will be collected. The impact, of course, is that with fewer taxes collected, there will be fewer dollars available for infrastructure maintenance and improvements. That is a little publicized problem that needs to be addressed as mpg improves. Currently, CAFE requires all vehicles sold to average 27.3 mpg; that will rise to 34.1 by 2017, and then increase 5% per year through 2025. With all the fuel sold and taxes collected now at the 27.3 standard, we still can’t find a way to adequately fund our infrastructure projects. If we could, we’d already have a multi-year highway reauthorization bill. more

As many in the country have sweltered under extreme temperatures this summer, fans and air conditioners have been running full blast. The same is true for a/c devices in both cars and trucks.

For drivers, especially professional drivers who spend so much of their time in their vehicles, air conditioning may not be a luxury. The last thing anyone wants is a driver hauling 80,000 lbs. down the highway, completely exhausted because he’s spent the past six hours sitting inside a 100-deg. cab. The results could be deadly.

But what do drivers do if their cab – and their temperament – are running a little hot? The quick fix comes in a can of R-134a. But in the eyes of at least one expert, the quick fix could do much more damage to your vehicle than it’s worth. more

I’ve driven the long road up Mt. Washington in Pinkham Notch, NH. It’s not for the faint of heart, that’s for sure. The twists and turns along the road on the way to the top of the 6,288-ft. summit leave you perilously close to the edge at times.

Traversing this 7.6-mi. route over a road that alternates between serpentine tarmac and gravel is impressive enough. Doing it in just 8:02 is unbelievable. But that’s exactly what stunt driver Mike Ryan accomplished recently. more

Texas Gov. Rick Perry joined Peterbilt Motors Co. executives at Peterbilt’s Denton, TX, plant for a bill-signing ceremony where Perry put his signature to a bill that will expand the natural gas infrastructure in the state of Texas.

Senate Bill 20 establishes a natural gas transportation corridor in the rapidly expanding Texas Triangle, which encompasses Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. The bill will increase the number of natural gas refueling station to support the use of natural gas powered trucks. more

Chrysler Group is recalling nearly 250,000 Ram Trucks due to a tie-rod issue that could cause drivers to lose control of the vehicle. The recall affects a variety of model years, ranging from 2003-2011.

According to the recall notice, the “left tie rod ball stud may fracture,” occurring most often during low speed maneuvers, typically of those occurring in parking lots, when the driver is making a tight turn. If it breaks, drivers could experience a loss of control in the left front wheel. more

A pair of distracted driving simulators will be part of an event starting today and running through Friday at Bill’s Truck Stop off I-85 in Linwood, NC. The event is being put on by Bennett International Group and the Owner Operators Independent Drivers Assn. (OOIDA) to serve as a driver recruitment and safety awareness event.

It is free and open to the public. more

McDonald’s is planning to convert its entire 80-plus truck fleet in the United Arab Emirates to run on 100% biodiesel, it said.

The fast-food giant, in cooperation with Neutral Fuels, will be using its own used vegetable oil as the base stock for the fuel. more

So the U.S. and Mexico have officially signed off on a cross-border trucking deal and the fun begins again. The long-awaited program – promised by the Obama Administration since the cancellation of the previous pilot program in 2009 – is officially a government program. We know this because of the criticism it is receiving, including a court challenge the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Assn. (OOIDA) has filed.

Without getting into too many details (you can read all the coverage at www.fleetowner.com), the one disturbing trend that continues to appear regarding the program is the claim that Mexican trucks are not up to the standards of U.S. vehicles. While that may be true in Mexico, it definitely will not be true here. Yet, opponents of the program continue to pound us over the heads with this. more

Since port truck replacement programs are in the news this week, it seems fitting that one program, along the Mid-Atlantic region, is forming.

Four states (Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and Pennsylvania) have joined forces with the University of Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Air Management Association (MARAMA) to create a new program designed to assist truck operators working in drayage operations in replacing their older trucks.

“We no longer want our ports to be the place where old trucks go to die,” says Joanne Throwe, the director of the University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center, which is coordinating the new effort. “It’s not just the air around the port that suffers – it’s the routes the trucks follow throughout the region.” more