New Jersey and nine other states, led by California, said Tuesday they plan to sue the federal government to try to force the Bush administration to strengthen gas mileage requirements for sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks. The lawsuit will contend the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration failed to conduct a thorough analysis of the environmental benefits of fuel economy regulations and the impact of gasoline consumption on climate change. The states were filing a petition for review with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco later Tuesday. The action follows the release of a government rule in late March setting tighter gas mileage rules for pickups, SUVs and vans covering the 2008-2011 model years. The Bush administration said the program, based on the vehicle’s size, was expected to save 10.7 billion gallons of fuel over the lifetime of the vehicles sold during that period. There was no immediate comment Tuesday from the NHTSA. A reporter’s message was left with a NHTSA spokesman. Plans for the lawsuit were first reported by The New York Times. Amid rising gas prices and worries about energy independence, the administration asked Congress last week to give it the authority to change fuel economy standards for passenger cars. Environmentalists have expressed disappointment with the light truck rule that would lead to a fleetwide average of 24 miles per gallon by 2011. The program will be phased in through 2010, with automakers having the option of complying under the old system until the new rules take full effect in 2011. ``The proposed upgrade in fuel economy standards is a complete sham and a gift to the auto industry,’’ said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. The 10 states are California, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont. The District of Columbia and New York City were also plaintiffs. ``Washington is ignoring the lessons the rest of us are learning from soaring gas prices and from mounting scientific evidence about the grave dangers of global warming,’’ said New Jersey Attorney General Zulima Farber.