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BILOXI, Mississippi (Reuters) - President George W. Bush called for legislation on Thursday to allow the administration to raise fuel-economy standards on all cars.

"I encourage (Congress) to give me that authority," Bush said while visiting a gasoline station in Mississippi.

In March, the Bush administration announced it would raise fuel economy standards by 1.9 miles per gallon for sport utility vehicles, pickups and vans -- the biggest gas guzzlers -- between 2008 and 2011.

Passenger cars were not included in the initiative. Those must get 27.5 miles per gallon. A White House official said that Bush only has the authority to raise the standards on light trucks.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said U.S. Transporation Secretary Norman Mineta would be sending a letter to Congress to formalize the request, adding that the administration believes a rise in the standards would "save jobs, save lives and save fuel."

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http://www.cnn.com/2006/AUTOS/04/27/bush_cafe/index.html?iref=newssearch

Just when you thought it couldn't go any hire, it keeps on going. Check out this article I found on www.freep.com. 

Americans are shell-shocked at $4-a-gallon gas. But compared with Europe, U.S. motorists have nothing to complain about.

In France, gas runs nearly $10. In Turkey, it's more than $11.

Varying national taxes and subsidies are the main reasons for the differences, along with limits in refining capacity and hard-to-reach places that drive up shipping costs.

As a result, plenty of European adults never even learn to drive, preferring cheap mass transit.

But prices have soared. In Germany, a gallon costs $8.33, more than double 2002 levels.

Fishermen in Spain and Portugal began nationwide strikes Friday, keeping their boats docked at ports. The Spanish fishing confederation estimates fuel prices have gone up 320% in five years.

In London, truck drivers clogged streets this week, demanding that Prime Minister Gordon Brown lower energy taxes.

Meanwhile in Indonesia, drivers are protesting shrinking gasoline subsidies. That's in a nation where nearly half the population of 235 million lives on less than $2 a day.

Russia is the world's second-leading producer of oil, but gas there comes to about $3.68 a gallon -- about the same as in the United States, where workers earn about six times as much money.

Much of the Russian cost comes from taxes. Limited refining capacity and the costs of transporting gasoline across the country's vast expanse also push up prices.

In China, government-mandated low retail gas prices have helped farmers and China's urban poor but contribute to the nation's pollution problems. The Chinese used about 5% more gas in the first four months of this year than last.

And there is Venezuela, where government subsidies and bountiful supplies mean gas sells for 12 cents a gallon. Consumers there are snapping up SUVs.

You can read the rest at:

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080531/NEWS07/805310322