The EPA is scrapping fuel economy regs, claiming it will bring back US jobs
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I wasn't aware that consumer choice was protected by a law passed by Congress, can the fine gentleman please point to where that is spelled out? On the other hand the clean air act has some pretty pointed things to say about what kind of pollutants are allowed to be emitted.
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So weird that they want to "protect my choice" to buy a vehicle that poisons the air more than it needs to, but they have no interest in "protecting my choice" to have an ISP that doesn't suck shit. Seems more like it's "protecting donors' choices" that are being made for me. Hmmm.
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Consumer choice, for bad mileage, eh?
Well given this novel political theory that governments must not protect the public if there's a profit to be made, may I just say that I find my freedoms are being trodden on by a lack of consumer choice: where do I get the lettuce with the e-coli in it? Or the lead-lined bottled water with extra mercury? Tyranny, I say!
Now if you'll excuse me, I have some seatbelts and airbags to cut out of my coal-rolling truck.
Well given this novel political theory that governments must not protect the public if there's a profit to be made, may I just say that I find my freedoms are being trodden on by a lack of consumer choice: where do I get the lettuce with the e-coli in it? Or the lead-lined bottled water with extra mercury? Tyranny, I say!
Now if you'll excuse me, I have some seatbelts and airbags to cut out of my coal-rolling truck.
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With fuel prices surging, where are they going to find people stupid enough to buy less efficient cars?
Oh wait, Texas.
Oh wait, Texas.
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There's never been a clearer example of "careful what you wish for" than the times they're in for.
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Never seen so much gaslighting
Day after day, one announcement after another, of total BS
Day after day, one announcement after another, of total BS
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Brave Republicans allowing Truck Americans the choice to continue our march towards mass climate migration, the deaths of thousands of species, the desertification of vast swathes of farmland, and the flooding of thousands of miles of coastland. It's only right that Buck can buy his latest child killing, 6 foot tall bumper, environment destroying penile prosthesis.
This is not about choice, because consumers won't be able to choose more fuel efficient trucks. They will be given a cheaper to make truck at the same price that burns more gasoline.
This is not about choice, because consumers won't be able to choose more fuel efficient trucks. They will be given a cheaper to make truck at the same price that burns more gasoline.
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Why yes, America can have its cake and eat it too. That's why we're exceptional, after all.
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Let's be real: apart from a cadre of politically obsessed folks who already illegally "roll coal", nobody wants to pay more at the gas pump, not even the gigacorps buying fleets of vehicles. Mileage will continue to be a selling point. Sorry!
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The states need to take matters into their own hands and just up the fuel taxes. If we paid $7.00 / gallon, like in much of Europe, then people would buy more efficient cars & drive less, and the truck loophole wouldn't matter.
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I wonder if automakers are going to tolerate the flip flopping of regulations every 4 years or just align to euro or china emissions standards.
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This is incredibly at odds with American car purchases. Our most popular cars aren't trucks because people care about fuel efficiency.
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If they want to sell cars in the US those cars have to conform to US regulations. They already have European and Chinese powertrains. But the US will be a place where you can sell outdated engines that wouldn't meet other regions' rules, yep.
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There are legit comments I want to say that would get me:
1. Banned.
2. Put on a watch list.
So I'll not say them. But I hope someday there is retribution for this shit by the American public and I'm not talking removal from office. That has zero consequences.
1. Banned.
2. Put on a watch list.
So I'll not say them. But I hope someday there is retribution for this shit by the American public and I'm not talking removal from office. That has zero consequences.
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Maybe the consumers they mean are the ones who bought and paid for this administration, not some poor schlub trying to buy a new car.
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The top selling vehicles right now in the US are trucks that get, like, 14mpg. People want giant fuel guzzling trucks and they want to complain about "high" gas costs. They don't want solutions, they want to complain.
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30 years from now we will look back on the Trump admin, the short-sighted fools that they are, as the beginning of the end for the American auto industry.
Meanwhile, nearly half of all new sales in China are EVs, and they are exporting millions of them to other countries as well (and if Trump keeps at it, there's no reason for Canada to continue tariffing them into irrelevance).
Meanwhile, nearly half of all new sales in China are EVs, and they are exporting millions of them to other countries as well (and if Trump keeps at it, there's no reason for Canada to continue tariffing them into irrelevance).
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California's standards still exist, for now at least. And 17 other states follow those rules as well.
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This here. Too much effort to maintain different specs for global production lines. We'll see some relaxing in fuel efficiencies brought on by vehicle body styles (wind resistance), but I don't think we'll see much.
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In response to not just this but, well, EVERYTHING, fuck it, it was a nice planet while we had it. I can only hope that I live long enough to get to tell people that they were warned about what would happen.
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Inb4 "Displaying fuel economy statistics on new vehicles is domestic terrorism"
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Yeah im thinking more forward with new platform development, if you are going to spend a billion dollars on a new platform will it be a rear wheel drive v8 that you can only sell in one market or if they are just going to make everything meet as a minimum euro standards.
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Even more specifically, they want inefficient vehicles and cheap gas subsidized by the government, and for any discussion of externalities to be silenced. Complaining is just the easiest path to reproducing our standard of living by functionally stealing from the future.
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MPG may be a selling point for some but when you look at the most popular cars sold in the USA theyre mostly trucks and SUVs so clearly the majority of us are prioritizing space, comfort, and capability over average MPG.
19/25 are Trucks/SUVs - https://www.caranddriver.com/news/g60385784/bestselling-cars-2024/
I'd love to see them allow us to buy some of the turbo diesels that are available in Europe and South America.
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Instructables can be Confusable
Wise, Aged Ars Veteran
Have you noticed yourself recently, say as of the last
Just me?
Anyway...
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Ah, the air-quotes they put around "consumers" must not have been transcribed. That would make sense.
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Right.. at the same time aren't they complaining about not enough car exports to europe? If you build cars that can't pass EU's economy regs, you can't export to the EU.
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Good luck selling those inefficient vehicles in Europe where the regulations are much stricter. The US has their SUVs and PickUps anyway, what is the point?
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And yet every single vehicle on the list has clearly been wind tunnel tested to boost mileage in its category, even the stupid ten foot tall pickup trucks that somehow never have a speck of mud on them. Call me naive, but I think people aren't prioritizing low mileage on their shopping list, it just comes as a result of the stupid size of these things. Otherwise, every car would look like a brick / child's drawing. (Not just "that" one)
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Don't doubt how long an automaker can keep building a cheaper engine that has already had its upfront costs amortized. There have been some incredibly long lived engine platforms out there. If they're already making them in the US for US vehicles, and the assembly line is already paid for, they'll find a way to keep cramming them into something.
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The trump administration never misses an opportunity to promote pollution and environmental destruction.
May our children and grandchildren forgive us for the wrongs we are doing to them.
May our children and grandchildren forgive us for the wrongs we are doing to them.
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guess american cars won't ever sell in europe
American car companies sell plenty in Europe. Ford sells many models; the Ford Puma was the most popular car in the UK last year and they sell an absolute metric trumpload of business vans. Stellantis brands include Citroën, Fiat, Peugeot and Vauxhall, which all sell extremely well.
They are however largely made in Europe, to European standards. So the real point that US designed gas guzzler SUVs from Mexico usually aren't worth shipping to the EU is true. There is VAT to pay on imports, but that's also true for cars made locally, same as everything. The import tax is fairly low, I think 10%. But as Brexit proved, and the new US tariffs are threatening, large numbers of car and engine parts often cross borders repeatedly before final assembly due to the complexity of modern cars.
The bigger issue though is meeting european emissions and safety standards. The cybertruck is too dangerous to be road legal in the EU and UK for example, and road taxes and anti-pollution zones generally charge by emissions band, and fuel taxes are punitive for low efficiency. My current car is 6 years old and gets 54 mpg which is fairly mediocre all said. Even though SUVs are getting more popular, European streets still aren't designed for the giant monster trucks of the US (nor do they get the tax advantages) so it's mostly compact SUVs (often hybrids), and family hatchbacks are still extremely common - the VW golf is a perennial top seller, which I think they've given up trying to even sell in the US?
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What are the chances automakers will ignore the currently (on the books) fuel economy standards? Considering the amount of time it takes dev/tool etc a new engine for a car, it is entirely possible (if not likely) the next administration will reverse any 'scrapping' of rules done during this administration's term. As with many things this administration does, it appears to be performative for the 'base' supporters, and in no way to have any actual effect. (I am fully aware of other activities that will ABSOLUTELY have impact, just that many such as this is very unlikely to have one).
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