American commute times reached record highs in 2018

Traffic in Atlanta, Georgia during rush hour (via Wikimedia)The average American now spends 54 minutes commuting each day (27 minutes each way), or 20 minutes more each week and 17 hours more each year than they did a decade ago, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Commute times have been on the rise since 1980, The Washington Post reported Monday. Over that period, Americans have sacrificed the...

California deal interrupts White House emissions rollback effort

Southern California traffic - by flickr user David R. BlumeRancor in the White House over the move by four automakers to strike a side deal with California over emissions and fuel-economy rules looks likely to further delay President Trump's plans to roll back the Obama-era standards. That's the conclusion of a report Tuesday in The New York Times, which cited four people familiar with the talks. After...

States, Cities sue EPA over Clean Power Plan rollback

Coal power plant in ChinaThe power grid that electric vehicles plug into will get cleaner over time. But depending on where you are, the rate at which it cleans up could have a lot to do with something that’s headed to the courts. A lawsuit filed Tuesday by 22 states and seven cities, in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, aims to...

California could soon close one of the dirtiest diesel-emissions loopholes

Fitzgerald Glider Kits headquarters in Crossville, TennesseeWe’ve all seen it while following big rigs: Clouds of sooty smoke coming from a single truck, prompted by an uphill grade, a passing maneuver, or sometimes seemingly nothing at all. How can that be legal? It might not be legal, but it underscores a current loophole in U.S. emissions for larger (Class 4-8) trucks: There’s no mechanism...

Automakers rebuff EPA mpg rollbacks, cut side deal with California

TrafficSome of the largest automakers in the U.S. have banded together with California—to set an example for the EPA and its long-stalled emissions and fuel economy revamp. The agreement between Ford, Honda, Volkswagen, and BMW's U.S. division would raise fuel-economy standards by about 3.7 percent a year through 2026 to a final target of about 50...

Report: EPA delays proposed fuel economy plan until September—or later

Southern California traffic - by flickr user David R. BlumeThe EPA's plans to freeze fuel economy and emissions standards have been put on hold until at least Labor Day, sources familiar with the plans told Bloomberg earlier this week. Last August, the EPA released its long-anticipated proposal to unwind the steadily rising fuel-economy standards put in place in 2012 under President Obama, in part to...

2020 Hyundai Sonata will emit less with new valve-duration tech

2020 Hyundai SonataHyundai last week announced that it has developed what it claims is the world’s first mass-production continuously variable valve duration (CVVD) technology. The company asserted the new valve tech, headed into versions of the 2020 Hyundai Sonata, will produce significant improvements in emissions, fuel efficiency, and performance. The...

Volkswagen talks through Europe’s tough new emissions tests

Portable Emissions Measurement Systems (PEMS) on a Peugeot 308From the U.S., we most often encounter European WLTP standards in the context of sizing up plug-in driving range for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids that haven’t yet been rated by the EPA. The Worldwide Harmonised Light-Vehicle Test Procedure, is however taking form as the most comprehensive emissions program in the world, replacing...