Those gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles that are so popular these days are now due for a makeover -- as new rules mandate a target of 24 miles per gallon, for a total savings of 10.7 billion gallons of gasoline by 2011.

New regulations announced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are calling for vehicles to get more miles per gallon than current models.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta, in a press release last Wednesday, called the changes the most "ambitious fuel-economy goals" the department has seen.

The new fuel economy standards were announced late last week and are the first complete reform of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program for pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and minivans. CAFE, which was enacted in 1979, regulates the fuel economy of cars and light trucks, including pickup trucks, minivans and most SUVs.

The current CAFE system calls for 2006 model-year vehicles to meet 21.6 miles per gallon and 22.2 miles per gallon in 2007.

"Probably the biggest change is that for the first time, the standards will now include the largest SUVs," said Ted Leonard, executive director for the Pennsylvania AAA Federation.

According to the public affairs department for NHTSA, the standards will now include vehicles that weigh up to 10,000 pounds. This means "heavy" SUVs, such as Hummers and Ford Expeditions, will now be subject to CAFE standards.

The new standards, which will impact the 2008 to 2011 model-year vehicles, increase the miles per gallon of light trucks and large SUVs each year. By 2011, automobile manufacturers must meet targets of 24 miles per gallon.

Growing concern over the country's oil use has sparked new efforts to promote fuel-saving activities. In his State of the Union Address earlier this year, President Bush said America is "addicted to oil" and set a goal to decrease U.S. dependency on Middle Eastern oil by 75 percent in the next 20 years.

"That's part of what's driving this -- our dependency on imported oil," Leonard said.

He said while the changes appear small, the cumulative effect will ultimately be about 10.7 billion gallons of gasoline saved overall.

Andrew Kleit, Penn State professor of energy and environmental economics, said the new standards are not too drastic.

"Especially as the price of gasoline has gone up, people have moved toward more fuel-efficient vehicles or are looking for cars that get higher gas mileage anyway," he said.

As for what these new standards mean for drivers, Leonard said the changes will be visible, but not too severe.

"They might eventually see a little more cost for the vehicles," he said. "But I don't think there will be any immediate impact on gas prices -- gas prices spike and level off and spike again, but they are more impacted by short-term events."

Brian Black, assistant professor of history and environmental studies at Penn State Altoona, has written several books on the history of petroleum and CAFE standards. He said he is optimistic about the changes.

"Will it completely solve the problem? Absolutely not," he said. "But just the fact that the federal government is looking at this is helpful in our plight with regards to petroleum."

Black said there is no quick fix for the country's fuel problems, but the CAFE changes will provide a step in the right direction. "As we deal with limited supplies and conservation issues, the standards are a really important step for the future as we try to use less petroleum in a variety of ways," he said.