Mercedes-Benz gets its own diesel emission cheating questions now

Mercedes-Benz GLS350d spotted testing near DenverInvestigators probing U.S. models of Mercedes-Benz sold with diesel engines have found software, possibly illegal under EPA rules, that helped them pass emission tests. Such software may be similar to that notoriously used in 580,000 vehicles sold by VW, Audi, and Porsche from 2009 through 2015 in what became the Volkswagen diesel emission...

NHTSA could cite safety of heavier cars in slashing CAFE rules: reports

Gas pumpIt'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 on Monday, the fuel-economy proposal due March 30...

Mazda tops EPA fuel-efficiency rankings for fifth year in a row

2016 Mazda 3Pick-ups and SUVs are rapidly taking over the American automotive landscape, but there's at least one measure in which it benefits an automaker to sell fewer of those vehicles. In the Environmental Protection Agency's latest "Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends" report, Mazda was named as the...

CAFE proposal coming March 30: automakers hope national rules survive

Gas pumpIt's been hanging out there in limbo for more than six months: the answer to the question of what happens to gas-mileage rules under Trump. Given the daily political turmoil emanating from Washington, D.C., the fate of corporate average fuel economy rules may have gotten lost in the noise. But for automakers and consumers, the fate of current CAFE...

E10 gasoline now standard, but E15 push stalled, so here comes E30

Big square baler harvesting wheat straw for production of cellulosic ethanolThough the Environmental Protection Agency has already ruled on ethanol-blended gasoline mixtures for 2018, that hasn't stopped ethanol advocates from pushing for a higher 30-percent blend for non-flex-fuel vehicles. The latest call for ethanol comes from corn-state ethanol refiners, farmers, and an ethanol-producer trade association, all of whom...

Renewable-fuel mandate ruling leaves no one happy: the best compromise?

Non-ethanol gasoline pumpAs they say, the best compromise is usually the one that leaves all parties equally dissatisfied. When it comes to the Environmental Protection Agency's renewable-fuel mandate, it seems regulators have reached equilibrium. The latest skirmish in the long-running battle over the U.S. renewable-fuel standard appears to have been settled, at least...

Trump EPA: less enforcement of laws, more leeway for polluters

Donald TrumpIn grade school, students commonly ran through the halls when teachers or other school staff weren't looking. Signs forbidding the act of sprinting past lockers did little to deter the practice, since there was no incentive not to run unless someone present was enforcing the rule. The same can be said for industrial polluters and environmental-law...

Proposed ethanol cuts bring EPA up against Iowa’s powerful politician

Big square baler harvesting wheat straw for production of cellulosic ethanolFollowing years of debate, the EPA said earlier this month it will study the possibilities of cutting the amount of ethanol in the United States' gasoline supply. Since 2007, the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has required growing amounts of ethanol to be blended into U.S. fuel supplies, with E10—a mix of 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent...

EPA to roll back Obama-era greenhouse gas policies on coal power plants

Coal trains by Flickr user Kimon Berlin (Used under CC License)EPA head Scott Pruitt told miners in Kentucky on Monday that he intends to begin dismantling former President Barack Obama's signature climate-change agenda effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions from coal power plants. Standing alongside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Pruitt told reporters at an event in Hazard, Ky., that, "The...

Head of EPA ignores environmental groups, meets only with corporations

EPA administrator Scott Pruitt  [photo from 2014]Scott Pruitt, head of the Environmental Protection Agency, has had a very busy schedule since being confirmed to lead the agency set up to protect America's air, water, and land from pollution. Unlike his predecessors, Pruitt—a climate-science denier and aggressive advocate of fossil fuels—has largely ignored environmental groups and...

EPA to study cutting amount of ethanol in U.S. gasoline

FlexFuel badge on E85-capable 2009 Chevrolet HHRSince 2007, the Renewable Fuel Standard has required increasing levels of ethanol in gasoline blends sold in the U.S. Most fuel stations across the United States no longer offer pure gasoline, with E10—a blend of 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline—prevailing. After years of debate, the EPA has now announced it will study the...