This projection, based on fuel efficiency standards that are currently on the books, shows that — absent radical legislative action, or everyone in the U.S. suddenly coming over all French — American cars' fuel economy is primed to suck out loud for the foreseeable future. Anyone complaining about overly stringent regulations can therefore bite it forever.
![](https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/no-fracking-not-an-alternative-flickr-5003.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=500)