Fuel prices have been on everyone’s mind for quite some time now. Everyone from families, automakers and even the government are ready for some big time changes. Starting this year with 2011 models, the federal government’s fuel-economy standards are going to change dramatically, the biggest change since the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) law was created in 1975. The average fuel economy for cars must improve from the current 27.5 mpg, where it has been since 1990, to 37.8 mpg by 2016. The truck standard has to rise from 23.5 mpg to 28.8. What does this mean for Kia dealerships in Illinois? As of 2008 Kia’s average is 33.6 average fuel economy for cars and 24.2 for trucks. Just as they do today, the rules will allow automakers to average their fuel economy across a number of models. A guzzler that doesn’t meet the standard can be “canceled out” by one or more vehicles that better the mpg standard. The Kia Sportage 2010 has an average fuel economy of about 22 MPGs, which is pretty good considering the line of much more fuel efficient vehicles they offer. The government’s 2016 fuel-economy numbers of 37.8 mpg and 28.8 mpg are projections because, unlike today, when every car and truck fleet must meet the same mandated average, the future requirements will be instead based on the size of each vehicle in a manufacturer’s fleet. Smaller volume automakers that sold fewer that 400,000 cars in 2009 will get a break on the requirements while “specialty automakers” such as BMW and Porsche will reportedly get longer lead-in times. Automakers will also get some sort of incentive for the first 200,000 plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles built by 2016. These standards are said to be equivalent to taking 58 million cars off our nation’s roads for a year, representing a savings of 1.8 billion barrels of oil.

Naturally, all of this is going to cost some extra money. If the Feds are right, automakers will spend about $51.5 billion over the next five years putting the standards into effect and the average price of a new car will rise by $985 by 2016. On the plus side, savings are expected to be even greater, with the average consumer will net an extra $3,000 in their wallets per in fuel savings over the life of the vehicle.

While car dealerships in Illinois are excited about the changes coming in the next few years, some say the government is being a bit unrealistic. Rest assured, this overhaul of CAFE was carefully considered, involved extensive input from automakers, and—with the new size-based standards—takes into account customer choice in a way that the old system never did. And if gas prices once again head toward $4, customer demand for fuel economy will likely outstrip these regulations.