The Trump administration is rolling back fuel economy rules enacted under the Obama administration, drawing fire from environmental critics and spurring legal action to counter the move.
The new rules put forth by the White House include a reduction in annual fleetwide average mpg increases, down to just 1.5 percent from the 5 percent put forth under the Obama administration. Automakers are now required to average fleetwide mpg at 40.4 mpg by 2026, rather than the 46.7 mpg average under the previous mandate. The standards will apply to vehicles between the 2021 to 2026 model years.
The move is framed as a compromise, as the Trump administration originally called for a total freeze on fuel mileage rates between now and 2026.
The Trump administration argued that the fuel economy rollback will lower the average cost of cars for consumers, and save automakers upwards of $100 billion in compliance costs.
“These standards are reasonable, realistic and achievable, and reflect the fact that times and technologies have changed since the original rules were enacted in 2012,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in a call with reporters.
Meanwhile, critics say that the lowered fuel economy standards will increase air pollution and result in greater fuel costs for customers.
“This tone-deaf, irresponsible effort will cost consumers at the pump, cost American jobs, reduce the value of U.S. vehicles globally, and further damage the environment and the air we breathe,” said executive director of Consumer Federation of America, Jack Gillis. “It’s a tragic move during these extraordinarily dire times.”
The Trump administration’s rules rollback has also resulted in lawsuits.
“We have taken previously to defend California’s waiver in the Clean Air Act,” said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, during a call with reporters. “And we took an action previously last year when the Trump administration was proposing to act in ways that did not follow their administrative process. So this will be the third legal action that we would take if we were to rule on this rule that was filed today.”
The news comes amid a drop in air pollution as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Various scientific studies have studied a possible link between climate change and a rise in the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19.
Comments
These pathetic cry baby losers. There is absolutely nothing stopping the car companies from adhering to the really hard to achieve “rules” that Barry Soetoro’s activist and regressive govt tried to inflict on the citizens of this Representative Republic, a free nation. If they want to make boxes on wheels and think they’ll sell GO FOR IT! Forcing Americans to drive $&^tboxes vs what the market allows isn’t freedom and a govt that forces its will on us isn’t “of the people or for the people”, its totalitarian.
The fact that Trump is reducing what would have been very hard to hit targets gets these toads in an uproar, I’ll bet none of them are driving the Wuling EV but ICE vehicles. I’ll bet some get picked up at the airport, from their flights in private jets, in Suburbans? These cowards are “do as I say not as I do” commies who want to tell everyone else what to do and how to live. BRAVO President Trump for working for the people. Our air is cleaner than probably any nation on earth and these pathetic do gooders should get in an uproar against the REAL polluters. They should also stfu and get real jobs.
when honda, bmw and others agreed to adhere to the more strict California standard, trump threatened to sue them.
of course he threatens to sue everyone but rarely goes through with it because he is full of it.
Just like you, enjoy your hate. There is one federal gubment and one set of rules. Liberal cowards can say and do what they want and Honda, BMW etc… they can certainly make vehicles that go to Barrys standard, if they can sell them. More power to them… but that said, Buttface Obama set a rule and guess what, Trump can undo it. THAT’S what all you pathetic haters hate.. Barry Soetoro the unqualified man child community organizer, now multi millionaire from his “public service” has been erased. Love it!
thank you for being you.
and you as well…
these companies do not sell a lot of big SUVs and PUs so it is easier for them to meet
Trump could crap on a plate, call it steak, and his supporters would eat it up. This fuel rollback is being handled with the same ignorance that he has handled the virus.
Your opinions are the Cadillac of opinions, overpriced, noncompetitive trash. It was a glorious day when the losers on CNN ate crow and said, “Donald Trump defeats Hitlary ClintStone…” Enjoy your hate you filthy turd. Trump could crap gold bars and fools like you would criticize him for not being platinum.
You are the ignorant fool and your opinion is founded on hate and cowardice. You probably voted for the man-child Barry Soetoro, and inflicted that pathetic mess on the nation. Remember that filthy turd is why Trump totally beat that hag in 2016. You never heard those on the right behave like you cry baby turds. GFY!
Your response just showed who you really are as a person. Thank you.
Naa… Trump supporters are just tired of cry baby losers like you and your trash opinions. You’re all for freedom of thought unless its different than yours. You’re all about “tolerance” except from ignorant, conservatives that differ from your pathetic world view. Go find a shoulder to cry on …..
Once again, thank you for being you.
Yugo Matt – Enjoy your rage and hate… we know you’re boiling right now…. 🙂
Well if he isn’t “Your President” send me your stimulus check I’ll email you my address.
First off, he had handled this situation very well calling on doctors and advisory from the very beginning making it known to the public.. what did the previous administration do about the swine flu?? Nothing.. spoke about it but that’s about as far as he did with his whole administration.
2nd we dramatically cut co2 in our ozone.. and I’m thankful for that and along with the EPA. You can have people that are knowledgeable about science and not being over board on reality.. I’m glad for efficient cars nowadays, I really am. This doesn’t stop them from furthering their improvements on fuel mileage or emissions.
Your entitled to your opinion just like I am but let’s not try to take it personal.. I like GM vehicles and yes I lean more conservative due to a lot of reasons.. but that doesn’t make me any more or less than anyone else.
I can say anything bad about Trump. I didn’t vote for him because I cannot, and I will not get any money from him because I never paid any Federal taxes. Where I live we have no Presidential vote or need to pay Federal taxes but we are all U.S. citizens since 1918, and we are “American” since 1493.
He is protecting his oil bosses so he can get tax deductible campaign donations. He left his birth city (NYC) because he doesn’t like a Democratic Governor. So he is worthless in deciding how to save millions of U.S. lives from air pollution. But California as a State (remember the name of this nation?) will override his decision and California will win, even after he is ousted in January 2021.
“possible link between climate change and a rise in the spread of infectious diseases” – What will they come up with next? Greener Newer Deal?
You want to clean up the air we breathe, how about we quit shipping spatulas (and N95 masks) from the other side of the world. According to the International Chamber of Shipping, there are more than 50,000 merchant ships operating in the oceans currently.
“It has been estimated that just one of these container ships, the length of around six football pitches, can produce the same amount of pollution as 50 million cars. The emissions from 15 of these mega-ships match those from all the cars in the world. And if the shipping industry were a country, it would be ranked between Germany and Japan as the sixth-largest contributor to CO2 emissions.”
https://medium.com/@victoria27/heres-how-much-pollution-shipping-containers-and-freight-trucks-cause-b358cb034c70
Now I don’t believe everything I read but 50’000 huge container ships?
You do the math Mr. Becerra!
Everyone put politics aside for a minute and look at this as us the consumers are getting screwed yet once again.
I understand that not everyone is ready for the shift to EV’s but even so, why give the Auto Makers any leeway to offer us subpar products compared to what they should have been offering by 2026? Now we know why GM, FCA, and Ford got rid of their sedans for the most part, they knew what was coming up.
I will make a dire prediction, Chinese and European Auto Makers are working on EV’s at an exponential level compared to our Big Three, once Chinese Automakers start selling EV’s here in a year or two, it will be just like the time we had Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Subaru, and VW here to eat our lunch. Our Big Three will not be ready for the new Automotive fight in the near future which will be EV’s.
I do not say this for it to be a Political take but I hope that States fight this for us the consumers. Put Politics aside and this makes absolutely zero sense for us the consumers. It only makes sense for Big Oil and their Shareholders which I am quite sure there’s plenty of Politicians in that field from both sides of the aisle.
america’s influence in the auto industry is diminishing. the biggest market is china and it will keep growing with time.
@steve
That is what I fear. Once the Chinese car companies come here (with all EV’s) it might really be game over for our Big Three. Our Home Team guys have had to endure VW, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Subaru, Hyundai, Kia these last 30 plus years. I do not know if they can withstand the onslaught of upcoming Chinese EV’s Car companies that will be flooding our market within the next 2 – 5 Years. fo rthe next 30 Plus years.
The Chinese EV cars will basically play the Hyundai/Kia play book right off the bat. Offer waaaay more for way less. Then become a huge player in the Market.
China is a dictatorship… some would say “cut off the power = cut off the mobility of the people”. China has some of the filthiest air, water and land on the planet and the commies that rule over the people couldn’t careless. They are pushing EV’s for whatever reasons they’re doing so but its certainly not because they care about “the environment”.
The US is a market based economy so the citizens determine the market. Some, like Apple give us products we didn’t know we needed like the iPhone. That said Automakers need to be prepared for market changes in the markets where they compete or they can be buggy whip makers, IE here today gone tomorrow. Its not Trumps fault if GM goes out of business, AGAIN, due to their own missteps and poor mgt. Heck Rick Wagoner was 1000X better than Typhoid Mary. Trump is not going to let American citizens lose their jobs nor will he allow industries to die, IF he is able.
That said GM in particular have about 90% of their eggs in this imaginary EV basket. GM gave up sedans for alot of reasons but one is they cant compete, Ford and FCA as well and I’d say because the UAW. The costs to produce the exact same vehicle is higher for GM/Ford & FCA than it is for Hyundai, Toyota, Nissan, Honda and others. That needs to end and perhaps union employees pay more than 3% of their healthcare costs? Didn’t know GM was in the “benefits” business but they cost so much their car business suffers.
It makes zero sense for all US vehicle production to go EV unless the market takes it there.
“They [China] are pushing EV’s for whatever reasons they’re doing so but its certainly not because they care about ‘the environment’.”
I can tell you why the Chinese Communist Party is pushing the world to EVs: rare earth metals. The communist nation has virtually NO oil in their ground and has to import essentially all of it, including to power their military vessels and machinery. Conversely, they are sitting on the world’s largest rare earth metal deposits and the commies have no problems destroying their environment or their people extracting and processing it.
Meaning, it is a global power play. Once communist China holds the keys to the materials necessary for global mobility they will waste no time leveraging it against the world’s nations. Communist China already did that very thing to Japan which, recently, was almost totally dependent on the commies for rare earth metals… until the communists cut off Japan’s supply amid a spat. That’s all it took for Japan to wisen-up and is no longer dependent on adversaries for that critical material.
In the U.S. we have started mining rare earth metals again (the largest site in SoCal much less!) and are doing it with state-of-the-art (i.e., green-friendly) machinery and processes. The commies do not want us easing the national FE standard OR mining rare earth metals because both prevent/delay our dependence on them. Hence the left and resistance groups like the Sierra Club (etc.) will irrationally fight everything the U.S. does with regard to remaining energy independent.
Bravo… don’t forget we supposedly get like 90% of our medicine from them. Trump is so on it with America first, we’ve got to bring the supply chain back to America. Make crap there ok, but we cannot be beholden to them. They will leverage it in a heart beat….
China is oil poor and coal rich, it’s a strategic move they don’t mind making electricity
Not so sure they’re coal rich, I know they want to buy it from us…
Dead people can’t buy cars or trucks. This is all Fubar
xjug, you really are a disgusting human being. Not saying Cadillac Matt (with his affinity for gross over-generaliziation) is a good guy, but you, sir, are an objectively rude, unintelligent, and pathetic person. All this ranting and raving, the stupid name-calling, what a sorry existence you are. It hurts to even admit I support the same candidate as you do, because of what a bad look that means for me. Grow the hell up already, get a freaking life, and calm the f*ck down. You are making an absolute FOOL of yourself. All your precious virtue-signalling about how everyone you disagree with is so full of hate…one of the most hypocritical statements I’ve seen in my entire life.
While I would agree with alot of what you just said, the hate leveled at the President is simply outrageous and from deranged minds. Now its being written that he was warned of a pandemic back in August. Of course for the last 3+ years he’s been defending himself from liberal cowards in congress and impeachment for crimes really committed by the left, and Hitlary ClintStone. Alec Blowhard this morning said Trump is guilty of murder because of his slow response to the virus, something absolutely no one on this planet could have predicted or done a better job at moving the nation once it started, than T. The vitriol and hate the anger, the protests, the insanity of the left has been met with what the normal folks always do, go to work, be productive and ignore them. Many are simply tired of it and like Trump we’re throwing the trash right back in their faces… Sorry if standing up against insane, deranged lunatics, who want to control US, offends you. I really don’t care what you think…
What cars on the market today get 46 MPG? Ugly, uglier, and ugliest I suspect.
My Ford Fusion Energi can get 57 MPG. That is the highest MPG for an American made car that burns gasoline. Only EVs and EREVs such as the Chevy Volt can do better.
Too bad then that Ford is killing the Fusion off in all it’s variants and instead making thirstier and costlier trucks and SUV’s instead like GM