CAFE
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Consumer Reports has looked at the potential costs of raising mpg requirements just 1.5 percent a year, or freezing them.
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Trump administration says California air is dirty, threatens to withhold highway funds
California is not yet doing enough to clean up its emissions, the EPA says, as it looks to revoke the state's authority in favor of lower emissions standards.
Byron Hurd -
Fewer than 1 in 3 new car shoppers agree with proposed EPA rollback, according to poll
Only 29 percent of new-car shoppers say they agree with rollbacks to federal fuel-economy standards proposed by the Trump administration, Autolist reported Tuesday. The survey asked more than 1,100 new-car shoppers if they agreed with the proposed plan to freeze federal emissions standards at 2020...
Aaron Cole -
California warns it won't follow lower EPA fuel economy, emissions rules
In response to an EPA proposal to freeze emissions and fuel economy standards, California said it will not honor federal vehicle certifications if the proposal goes through. "The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has proposed amending the California Low-Emission Vehicle III Greenhouse Gas...
Eric C. Evarts -
Automakers may not want to roll back fuel-economy standards after all
Averting a showdown between 17 states and the federal government may take priority over industry-friendly fuel-economy targets. At least, that's what they're saying. Reports leading up to a May 11 meeting between leaders of America's automotive industry and President Donald Trump indicate that...
Aaron Cole -
Cars out at Ford, small crossovers and SUVs left to take up efficiency banner
Passenger cars at Ford have short lives. The automaker announced Wednesday that it would pare its lineup to just two cars: The Mustang and a new Focus Active crossover, which is based on the next-generation Focus unveiled this month. The Ford Fiesta, Fusion, Taurus, and Focus hatchback and sedan...
Aaron Cole -
As promised, the Trump administration has embarked on regulatory rollbacks across many fronts, some immediate and others taking longer. It remains unclear whether the EPA's plan to loosen carbon-dioxide emission limits for 2022 through 2025 vehicles will survive inevitable court challenges. However, despite shrill rhetoric from environmental groups, automakers in general—especially the Detroit Three—don't want those standards tossed out the window. DON'T MISS: Pruitt's EPA emission rollback reasoning may well fail in court They might like to see them delayed, and some minor...
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EPA does not set fuel-economy limits: get this right, journalists!
Journalism as an industry is under great pressure these days. There are far more people writing "content" than in past decades, and in general they are having to produce more of it for less money than they did 10, 20, or 50 years ago. That's no excuse, however, for getting the basics wrong. DON'T...
John Voelcker -
Why trucks aren't a CAFE problem for carmakers, despite their lobbying claims
The automakers claimed that the standards were unrealistic given that consumers are flocking to crossovers and pickup trucks as gas prices remain low. According to a new report by the American Council for an Energy Efficient economy, and to our own analysis, trucks aren't the reason.
Eric C. Evarts -
8 things you should know about EPA plan to let cars emit more (cutting fuel economy as well)
EPA administrator Scott Pruitt said yesterday the agency plans to modify rules limiting carbon-dioxide emissions for light-duty vehicles in model years 2022 through 2025. The agency, he said, had reached a determination that the limits put in place in 2012 under the Obama administration were...
John Voelcker -
Auto parts suppliers support current fuel-economy rules, overwhelmingly: survey
As the auto industry and environmental groups count down the days until the NHTSA releases proposals to revise fuel-economy standards, surveys show one industry wants the standards to stay just as they are. That is the auto-parts supply industry, according to a study released Thursday morning by...
John Voelcker -
CA attorney general: we will fight looser fuel-economy, emission rules
Last Tuesday, EPA administrator Scott Pruitt said the agency does not intend to let California set the agenda for national emission limits on vehicles. He suggested to Bloomberg the EPA plans to cut emission rules aggressively to respond to carmakers' pleas for easing of the corporate average fuel...
John Voelcker -
General Motors CEO Mary Barra told energy conference attendees in Houston on Wednesday the automaker would increase production of its newest electric vehicle, push for a single fuel-economy standard nationwide, and support expanding tax credits for electrified vehicles. "The good news is that our generation has the ambition, the talent and the technology to create a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion," she said, according to prepared remarks made available before her speech at CERAWeek. DON'T MISS: GM CEO Mary Barra hints at Bolt EV-based crossover SUV, details future...
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NHTSA could cite safety of heavier cars in slashing CAFE rules: reports
It's been clear that under the Trump administration, the NHTSA and EPA plan to roll back linked fuel-economy rules and emission limits on new vehicles. Now a possible justification that will be used has emerged—and it's not the one many advocates had expected. According to a Bloomberg report...
John Voelcker -
Ford CAFE rollback efforts, countering sustainability claims, slammed in Sierra Club video
The production values are high and the message is clear in a video released Tuesday by The Sierra Club. The environmental advocacy group 's goal is simple: highlight the contrast between Ford Motor Company's claims of sustainability goals and its behind-the-scenes efforts to roll back U.S...
John Voelcker -
Automaker push to delay, modify, or kill CAFE is nothing new
As automakers yet again lobby Washington to roll back planned fuel-economy targets for 2025, they've employed some familiar tactics to drive the point home to lawmakers. It cannot be done. It will cost too much. It will destroy the industry and kill jobs. Consumers do not want this. The science is...
Mark Stevenson -
What will happen to U.S. fuel-economy rules through 2025? Poll results
With the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president last November, it became clear that the regulatory environment for businesses would change once he took office. Indeed, dozens of regulations limiting corporate activities involving emissions, fossil-fuel exploration, hiring and firing, and a host...
John Voelcker -
States to force emission, fuel-economy rules showdown with Trump Administration?
Continuing political turmoil and news coverage of the Trump Administration haven't stopped the president's agency heads from drastically reshaping policies on energy, the environment, and emissions. Comments are now being taken on the reopened EPA limits on vehicular carbon emissions for 2022...
John Voelcker -
Lately, automakers haven't been touting the rising fuel economy of new vehicles, but it has to continue rising to meet reductions in the legal levels of carbon emitted. While major strides in fuel economy have been made over the past five years, the complex engine technologies and other improvements turn out to have less effect in real-world driving than the numbers would indicate. In layman's terms, a tiny turbocharged inline-4 cylinder engine may not be as efficient as lab results suggest. DON'T MISS: Fuel-efficiency rules create jobs too, contrary to industry plaints Those findings come...
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What will happen to US fuel-economy rules to 2025? Take our Twitter poll
Even the automaker lobbying group didn't go this far in their complaints about emission and fuel-economy rules for vehicles in the 2022 through 2025 model years. When the Obama Administration approved final EPA emission rules for those years, the automakers complained that the comment period had...
John Voelcker -
Trump NHTSA might reduce fuel-economy rules for two-thirds of U.S. vehicles
Consumers all over the world, but especially in North America, are buying more crossover utility vehicles and fewer passenger sedans and hatchbacks. The U.S. auto industry makes the bulk of its profits on light trucks, which include crossovers, pickup trucks, and even minivans. The Trump...
John Voelcker -
Carmaker lobbyist urges fuel-economy deal to keep emission limits, but stretch them out (updated)
Automakers appear to have united behind a surprising position: reviews of emission rules should not involve scrapping the current standards. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a lobbying group that represents automakers building cars in the U.S., has suggested the Trump administration should...
Sean Szymkowski -
For pickup trucks, more than half all fuel savings come in 2022-2025 CAFE rules
Sometimes, when science and technology issues have economic or political consequences, incorrect or misleading information and analyses can be propagated through the media, leading both decision makers and the public astray. A piece published in April by Forbes, covering the effects of the 2022...
John Briggs -
NHTSA to review gas-mileage rules: could freeze 2021 limits, even roll back (updated)
The U.S. Department of Transportation said yesterday the NHTSA is preparing to revise corporate average fuel economy requirements for model years 2022 through 2025. The proposed version of those regulations, which was issued by the Obama Administration in 2012, included steady increases for each of...
John Voelcker