EPA to reopen emission-rule review; how important is this step?

Donald TrumpTomorrow is expected to be the day when President Donald Trump announces the EPA will reopen the comment period for the vehicle emissions standards it finalized in the waning days of the Obama Administration. The event will likely be accompanied by predictable language: Trump will be “highlighting the need to eliminate burdensome regulations...

EPA to reopen 2022-2025 auto-emission rule decision: report

Chrome exhaust pipeIt looks like lobbying pays off, at least in the case of EPA emission rules. According to numerous recent reports, the EPA is expected to reopen the commenting period for vehicle-emission rules it finalized in January, more than a year ahead of schedule. Automaker CEOs and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers had asked President Donald Trump...

Auto industry split over halting, changing fuel-economy rules

The White House, Washington, D.C.  [Creative Commons license by dcjohn]Just days after the presidential election, automaker lobbyists urged Donald Trump to loosen pending emissions and fuel-economy standards. Shortly after the election, a lobbying group wrote Trump asking him to change or delay an EPA decision that kept planned emissions standards for 2022 to 2025 in place. Last week, executives of 18 automakers sent...

Carmakers ask Trump to review EPA rules, use discredited job projection

Gas pumpJust days after the presidential election, an automaker lobbying group wrote Donald Trump asking him to change, delay, or dispense with an EPA decision that kept planned exhaust-emission standards through 2025. Now executives of 18 automakers have sent a second letter, asking the same thing—and echoing a statement by Ford CEO Mark Fields...

Rest of world: Trump may roll back emission rules, but we won’t

2016 Ford F-250 Super DutyWith auto-industry lobbyists pushing to have the Trump Administration roll back current and future emission and fuel-economy rules, automakers clearly see the new U.S. regime as more friendly to the needs of business. And it's possible that indeed, the EPA's vehicle emission limits, the NHTSA's fuel-economy rules, and various other regulations (on...

EPA finalizes emission rules through 2025; no change from existing levels

Chrome exhaust pipeSeven days before the advent of a new presidential administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has locked in planned auto-emission standards through 2025. The emission limits tie directly to fuel-efficiency rules issued by the NHTSA, effectively requiring those rules to stay the same as well. Announcing its final determination this...

NHTSA delays penalty rise for carmakers who miss CAFE levels

Fuel gaugeCurrent Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards require automakers to achieve a fleet average of roughly 54.5 mpg by 2025. That's actually closer to 40 mpg in the real world, as presented on new-car window stickers, but it still represents a major increase over the next few years. The auto industry has argued that it is too large an...

Carmakers howl about CAFE rules, but regularly beat them; why?

Gas pumpThis week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it would maintain current Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for 2022 to 2025. The decision was praised by environmental groups, but likely won't receive as warm a reception from the industry. CAFE standards are up for a midterm review, and auto-industry lobbyists spent...