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Originally Posted by Martinjlm
Based on manufacturer, not brand. So VW includes Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini. Not certain about Porsche, because of the way VW is set up. Porsche might still be considered a separate company. They are still sorting out the lawsuits from when Porsche tried a stock maneuver to buy VW. Guppy swallows whale...film at 11. 
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The smaller the footprint area (wheelbase X track) the HIGHER the fuel economy target. Manufacturers are trying to optimize that footprint area by pushing the wheels further out to the corners. It’s why Malibu is almost as big as Impala. It’s target is not as tough as the previous Malibu, and it is still several hundred pounds lighter than Impala, and therefore has a better starting point towards making the targets.
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There are also credits for E85, stop/start, new HVAC coolant. There are people who have really decent careers in just understanding the math around balancing fuel economy targets in all the regions and countries. Sorta like experts in managing salary cap in professional football and baseball. |
Another example of the push for bigger footprints, when I heard that the new Silverado was getting bigger I instantly thought 'CAFE gimmicking'.
And I thought that the credits for E85 were either getting eliminated or drastically cut? FFV engines seem to be a lot rarer now than a few years ago, which would support that. I know that E85 fuel credits were extremely beneficial in the past, since the overall goal of CAFE isn't to make vehicles more efficient but for the United States to import less fuel. So a car fueled by 15% gasoline & 85% corn ethanol is, in effect, using around 1/6th the gasoline of its 'G100' equivalent. In reality, that math is very flawed ... but such was the reasoning for providing those credits in the first place.
As to Porsche/VW ... I have no idea who legally owns what. But I do remember that they were simultaneously trying to buy each other a few years ago, which struck me as rather odd. Logically, only one of them should have been in a position to buy the other. If two companies are on relatively equal financial footing, doesn't that normally results in a merger instead of an acquisition? But as I recall, the ownership structure of both companies is a bit weird to begin with so who knows what normal would ever look like.