If you like cars then the New York Times’ Wheels blog is a must. They report on a lot of the big happening in the world of autos. How I envy the writers behind the blog. It’s such a fun job. Anyhow, today they reported this bit of new news:

The Obama administration unveiled new fuel-efficiency standards today for cars and trucks, resulting in a combined average of 27.3 miles a gallon for new cars and trucks in the 2011 model year. That is up 2 m.p.g. from the current average.

Under the changes, new passenger cars will need to meet 30.2 miles a gallon for the 2011 model year (up from 27.5) and pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and minivans will need to reach 24.1

One thing: I am all for raising fuel-efficiency, but at a time when the economy is contracting and the domestic auto-industry is on life-support is this really the best time to impose more obligations on automakers?

And on the note of fuel-efficiency. The iPhone is here to help:

AccuFuel™ Fuel Efficiency Tracker makes monitoring your vehicle’s fuel efficiency simple and fun. Is your SUV guzzling gasoline? Is your hybrid saving you money? With AccuFuel, you’ll instantly see how your driving habits affect your fuel efficiency.

Available on the iPhone App Store for $.99!

I need to get this on my iPhone, it is most convenient.