fuel economy standards

Automakers Turn to Climate Deniers in Quest to Lower Fuel Economy Regulations

, senior vehicles analyst

March 19, 2018 3:49 PM EDT

Last month, the Alliance for Automobile Manufacturers submitted a report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration/Department of Transportation calling into question impacts of climate change and tailpipe pollutants in an effort to undercut the need for fuel economy regulation.  The Alliance is the trade group for Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, and Toyota, among others.  The report funded by the Alliance was written by industry shills with ties to the Heartland Institute and General Motors, and it flies in the face of automaker claims by the likes of Ford and Toyota that they are taking climate change seriously. Read more >

iStockphoto.com/mccaig
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iStockphoto.com/mccaig

Latest EPA Automaker Reports Show Compliance with and Success of Standards

, senior vehicles analyst

January 11, 2018 3:01 PM EDT

EPA released its annual reports on new passenger vehicles. One report highlights the historical trend in fuel economy for cars and trucks over time, while the other report discusses the progress of manufacturers towards meeting global warming emissions regulations now under attack by industry and this administration. Taken together, the key findings from both reports are clear:  1) every type of vehicle is getting more efficient, driven by strong standards, and that’s great news for consumers; 2) despite a meager overall improvement in fuel economy, manufacturers continue to comply with the standards; and 3) there’s still a huge opportunity for future fuel economy improvements, as manufacturers continue to bring newly redesigned vehicles to market. Read more >

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Vehicle pollution is a major issue for human health and the environment.

Automakers’ Long List of Fights Against Progress, and Why We Must Demand Better

, senior vehicles analyst

December 6, 2017 11:43 AM EDT

Today, we are releasing a report documenting the long, sordid past of the auto industry, who has fought regulation tooth and nail at every turn. From pollution control to seatbelts and air bags to fuel economy, the industry has spent the vast majority of the past 7 decades doing whatever it can to wriggle out of government regulations, at the expense of the American public. Read more >

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That shiny new truck could have a 15-year-old engine that doesn’t meet today’s standards. Photo: Jeremy Rempel. CC-BY-ND 2.0 (Flickr)

The EPA Knows Glider Trucks Are Dangerously Dirty: It’s Time to Keep Them Off the Road

, senior vehicles analyst

December 4, 2017 9:07 AM EDT

Today, I am speaking at a public hearing at EPA to push back on the agency reopening a “zombie truck” loophole. I wrote about the political motivations behind the attack on public health previously, but we now have even more information about exactly how dirty these trucks are from an interesting source: the EPA itself.

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Photo: Staff Sgt. Jason Colbert, US Air Force

Vehicle Fuel Economy Standards—Under Fire?

Dr. Kate Whitefoot, , UCS

December 1, 2017 1:53 PM EDT

Last year, transportation became the sector with the largest CO2 emissions in the United States. While the electricity industry has experienced a decline in CO2 emissions since 2008 because of a shift from coal to natural gas and renewables, an equivalent turnaround has not yet occurred in transportation. Reducing emissions in this sector is critical to avoiding the effects of extreme climate change, and the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions standards are an important mechanism to do so. Read more >

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