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SUVs come under mileage scrutiny

WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Manufacturers of sport utility vehicles will soon be forced to improve gas mileage, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

As early as this week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is expected to publish an "advance notice of proposed rulemaking" related to light trucks -- the loophole that permits SUVs to be classified as a light truck and therefore subject to more lax mileage constraints than a car.

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Another loophole the agency is targeting allows massive vehicles, such as the General Motors Corp.'s Hummer H2, to escape any regulatory limit on fuel economy.

The changes would represent the biggest regulatory rewrite in the 25-year history of the fuel-economy program.

Current rules require new 2005 model cars to average 27.5 miles per gallon, but light trucks to average only 21 mpg. Under the current system, a vehicle can be classified as a truck if a seat can be readily removed to allow for additional cargo space.

But the Journal said narrowing the definition of a truck might crimp industry profits by forcing automakers to spend lots of money reengineering their SUVs to make them more efficient.

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