The new rule, announced April 1, will increase fuel economy for such vehicles by a mere 1.5 miles per gallon (mpg), from 20.7 mpg today to 22.2 mpg by 2007 -- well below what is technologically feasible. NHTSA stuck with the targets from its December 2002 proposal, despite receiving thousands of public comments supporting tougher measures.

“The numbers apparently were fixed by the auto industry last year,” according to a statement by Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen. “E-mails sent between agency officials and corporate officials from Ford and General Motors, obtained recently by Public Citizen through a Freedom of Information Act request, confirm that NHTSA used the manufacturer’s numbers as the basis for its calculations, rather than setting the standards at the ‘maximum feasible’ level as required by law.”

The new standards are much less stringent than those for passenger cars -- currently 27.5 mpg -- and will result in only minimal environmental benefits, according to NHTSA’s own draft environmental assessment.

The rule takes effect May 7. NHTSA will accept petitions for reconsideration of this rule through May 22.