EPA
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The EPA regulations limiting the amount of carbon that can be emitted by existing powerplants may be the most crucial step forward in environmental policy made by the eight-year Obama Administration. But those regulations will apparently be late in arriving for public comment--and they face a notably more hostile U.S. Congress over the next two years. DON'T MISS: EPA's Coal-Plant Emissions Rules: This Will Be The Big Fight (Jun 2014) As Politico noted in an article last week, insiders following the agency's progress on the rule think it could miss the January 8 deadline "by months." Indeed...
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Hyundai, Kia To Pay $300 Million For Gas-Mileage Testing Errors
The penalty paid by the two Korean carmakers is reportedly the largest ever for a Clean Air Act violation.
Stephen Edelstein -
CA Smog Plan Approved By State & EPA Isn't Tough Enough: Lawsuit
Four groups are suing over a Los Angeles-area smog-reduction plan they say isn't strict enough.
Stephen Edelstein -
EPA To Tighten Gas-Mileage Test Rules, Audit More Ratings From Carmakers
The EPA plans to audit more of the gas-mileage test data submitted by carmakers, and tighten its rules for that testing, after fuel-economy ratings on almost 20 recent models proved to be too high and had to be reduced. The move follows the highly publicized rollbacks of gas-mileage ratings over...
John Voelcker -
Further Crackdowns On Diesel Emissions Only A Matter Of Time?
European analysts expect stricter diesel-emission standards in the near future.
Stephen Edelstein -
U.S. Will Meet Fuel-Economy Goals Despite Higher Truck, SUV Sales, EPA Says
An EPA report says carmakers are on schedule to meet the 54.5-mpg CAFE deadline.
Stephen Edelstein -
The auto industry came very near to the precipice in 2009, and it agreed to significant new regulations to enable it to step back from the brink. Now, it turns out that it's not only meeting, but actually beating, the required reductions in emissions. That means that, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, improvements in fleet average fuel economy are actually running ahead of schedule. DON'T MISS: 2015 Ford F-150 SFE: Highest Gas Mileage Model For Aluminum Pickup The good news comes from industry trade journal Ward's Auto, which notes that the auto industry is "ahead of the...
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EPA Wants Carmakers To Verify Gas Mileage With Road Testing Too
Several automakers have come under fire in recent years over reported EPA gas mileage figures that prove unattainable in the real world. According to the Wall Street Journal, the EPA plans to require car manufacturers to road-test new cars to confirm gas-mileage ratings based on laboratory tests...
Antony Ingram -
Ford Cuts Gas Mileage On 6 Models: What You Need To Know, And Open Questions
The news yesterday was simple: Ford has lowered the gas-mileage and efficiency ratings for six of its 2013 and 2014 models. Three are hybrids from Ford and Lincoln, two are Ford plug-in hybrids, and the last is the 2014 Ford Fiesta, newly updated, which has revised ratings for four different engine...
John Voelcker -
Do New EPA Emission Rules Just Hasten Coal's Inevitable Death?
Take a deep breath and relax. It is highly unlikely that "millions of Americans will be freezing in the dark" (in the words of a critic) once new EPA rules lowering carbon emissions from power plants go into effect. In fact, some analyses suggest that the rules issued last week by the U.S...
John Voelcker -
Cost Of New EPA Carbon Limits? About $7 Per Car: Report
Every time a new environmental regulation is proposed in the United States, there's a predictable chorus of doom-and-gloom predictions that it will kill jobs, cause manufacturers to move their operations out of the country, and destroy the economy. Those predictions tend to be a bit, shall we say...
John Voelcker -
EPA's Coal-Plant Emissions Rules: This Will Be The Big Fight
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to announce new regulations to cut the carbon emissions of more than 600 existing coal-fired electric power plants. And many analysts suggest that this regulation--which will likely spark a major political battle--will be the most...
John Voelcker -
Yesterday we reported on the delay getting range-extended versions of BMW's 2014 i3 electric car to the market, pending the confirmation and fitment of their EPA-approved window stickers. That wait may not be much longer--and now we know the car's official EPA-rated mileage. The 2014 BMW i3 REx is rated at 117 MPGe on electric power (29 kWh/100 miles), with a 72-mile all-electric range. On gasoline, once the range-extending engine kicks in, the REx gets combined mileage of 39 mpg. READ: Largest Auto-Industry Employer California: Electric-Car Maker Tesla Motors For comparison, the all-electric...
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Chrysler: Mild Hybrids Coming, Says Electric Cars 'Overblown By Media'
Yesterday's multi-hour presentation of the five-year plan for the combined Fiat Chrysler Automobiles was called "Chryslerpalooza" by local Detroit reporters who sat through it. The first green news was that Chrysler will build small numbers of plug-in hybrid minivans and large SUVs to meet emission...
John Voelcker -
2014 BMW i3 Electric Car Rated At 81 Miles, 124 MPGe: BREAKING
Well, the numbers are in, courtesy of a quickly-photographed window sticker, and now we know the range and efficiency ratings for the 2014 BMW i3 electric car. The EPA-rated range is 81 miles, and its efficiency is a record-breaking 124 MPGe combined (138 MPGe city, 111 MPGe highway). ALSO SEE...
John Voelcker -
Automakers Met Carbon-Emission Limits In 2012 With Room To Spare
The EPA reports 2012-model-year vehicles lowered CO2 emissions even further than required by law.
Stephen Edelstein -
EPA Resets Ethanol Rules To Reflect Reality: Cellulosic Sources Don't Exist
For many months now, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has faced a dilemma: What to do about its rules that millions of gallons of cellulosic ethanol be blended into the U.S. gasoline supply. Now, The Detroit News reports that the agency has decided to accept reality: Supplies of that fuel...
John Voelcker -
Sulfur In Gasoline To Fall By Two-Thirds In 2017 To Cut Emissions
New emissions standards will reduce the amount of sulfur in gasoline to 10 ppm.
Stephen Edelstein -
The EPA plans to cut 1.4 billion gallons from its 2014 renewable-fuels target.
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Obama Tells EPA To Set Next Heavy-Duty Truck Fuel-Efficiency Rule
The Obama Administration wants stricter truck fuel-economy rules to replace the current standards, which expire in 2018.
Stephen Edelstein -
Hybrids, Electrics Not Needed To Reach 54.5 MPG In 2025: Industry Exec
For some companies in the auto industry, building cars to hit a target of 54.5 mpg by 2025 may seem like a near-impossible task. But to others, the EPA's Corporate Average Fuel Economy targets agreed in 2011 aren't simply achievable by that date, but could be reached today--and with today's...
Antony Ingram -
Could Congress Kill Ethanol Mandate Altogether In 2014?
Ethanol has been a key component of the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard since the 2007 passage of the Energy Security and Independence Act. Now, there appears to be a chance that rules requiring minimum volumes of ethanol to be blended into vehicle fuel could be reformed or scrapped altogether in...
Antony Ingram -
Hyundai, Kia To Pay Owners $395 Million For Overstating Gas Mileage
In recent years, Korean twins Hyundai and Kia have lain claim to some of the best average fuel efficiency figures in their respective sectors. That all changed in late 2012 when it was discovered that the two marques had been overstating the EPA mileage figures on a wide range of vehicles. Now...
Antony Ingram -
Average Vehicle Weight, Power Fell In 2012, Performance Unchanged: EPA
You might be forgiven for thinking that as cars get ever heavier, better equipped, safer, more practical, more powerful and faster, fuel economy would suffer. Thankfully, the EPA's latest set of statistics proves that isn't the case--and dispels other notions such as increasing weight and ever...
Antony Ingram