• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • The Rearview Mirror: "A Path Filled With Hardships"
  • Q&A: Volvo CEO Jim Rowan Talks Hitting Targets, Future Vehicles
  • FIA’s Formula E is Changing the Way We Look at Racing
  • Lexus Lifts the Covers Off New, Three-Row TX SUV
  • First Look: 2024 Lexus GX
  • GM Investing $500M in Texas Plant for Gas-Powered SUVs
  • New Battery Chemistry Promises Increased Range, Cell Life
  • Labor Unrest at West Coast Ports Threatens U.S. Automakers
  • Used Car Wholesale Prices Decline; Retail Prices Don't
  • Pandemic Accelerated Auto Dealers’ Shift to Digital-Oriented Sales Process
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
      • Feeder
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2024 Chevrolet Trax Activ
    • A Week With: 2024 GMC Sierra 2500 Denali Ultimate
    • A Week With: 2023 Volkswagen Golf GTI 2.0 SE
    • A Week With: 2023 Kia Niro SX Touring
    • A Week With: 2023 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Estrema Q4
    • A Week With: 2023 Lexus NX 350h Luxury
    • A Week With: 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan SEL R-Line
    • First Drive: 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander
    • A Week With: 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E Premium RWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Electrified GV70 AWD Prestige
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Automakers > Trump Admin Eliminates CA Waiver, Delays Details on Fuel Economy Rollback

        Trump Admin Eliminates CA Waiver, Delays Details on Fuel Economy Rollback

        Officials hope separating actions will minimize legal challenges.

        Paul A. Eisenstein
        Paul A. Eisenstein , Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
        Sept. 19, 2019
        EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler argues that the CAFE changes will get cleaner, safer cars onto the road faster than under the Obama rules.

        California will lose its ability to set tougher fuel economy standards than those set by Washington, two senior members of the Trump administration announced Thursday morning, proclaiming that move, along with a planned rollback of federal mileage rules, will result in safer and cleaner vehicles, while also creating more American jobs.

        Andrew Wheeler, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, justified the actions by arguing that rules set by the Obama administration, as well as by the California Air Resources Board, would have forced the auto industry to build electric vehicles few Americans can afford, keeping older vehicles, which pollute more and are less safe, on the road longer.

        During an early morning news conference, administration officials also said they hope that automakers, as well as California regulators, will support the changes. If not, they said they hope that by separating actions on mileage rules and the California waiver this will make it quicker and easier to fend off the anticipated legal challenges.

        (Trump Confirms Mileage Standards Cut, Elimination of California Clean Air Waiver)

        President Donald Trump has long promised to roll back the federal fuel economy standards set under the Obama administration and, in the process, eliminate the waiver given to California that allowed it to set even tougher guidelines. The mandate set by regulators at the California Air Resource Board have now been adopted by 13 other states, as well as the District of Columbia, and cover about a third of American car buyers.

        Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said the new fuel economy rules will deliver safety and cost savings for consumers once in effect.

        Referencing to the acronym for the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards, “CAFE does not mean California Assumes Federal Empowerment,” said Wheeler, adding that the administration believes one uniform standard is needed for the entire country.

        The EPA chief stressed that the move to block California from setting greenhouse gas standards will not impact its ability to regulate other pollutants, such as ozone, adding that, “We hope the state will focus on these issues rather than trying to set fuel economy standards for the rest of the country.”

        There had been some anticipation that details of the revised CAFE mandates – to be called the SAFE Vehicle program – would be announced on Thursday morning, but Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao explained that final details on the mileage rules are still being worked through.

        The DOT chief did say that “the updated standards will be reasonable,” and likely will not be rolled back as much as the administration had first suggested during a news conference late last year.

        President Donald Trump on Wednesday weighed in on the mileage issue with a series of tweets including one in which he declared that the revised rules would make vehicles “substantially SAFER,” while also “meaning significantly more JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!”

        Wheeler and Chao repeatedly focused on those points during their joint news conference, often taking shots at electric vehicles which they insisted would deliver little benefit to the environment.

        “The rule will not force automakers to spend billions of dollars to build cars that American consumers do not want to buy or drive,” said Chao.

        (Trump Admin. Set to Revoke California’s Authority to Set Vehicle Emission Standards)

        For his part, Wheeler claimed that average American car buyers are being forced to subsidize electric vehicles that are, disproportionately, being purchased by wealthy Americans.

        His key argument was that new cars and light trucks are becoming more and more expensive – Wheeler quoting an average price of $39,000 during the first quarter of 2019 – a trend that would continue under the Obama CAFE rules. That is pricing more and more U.S. motorists out of the market, the EPA director said, pointing to statistics showing the average vehicle on the road today is about 12 years old, up from 8 years in 1990.

        That works counter to the goal of making vehicles safer and cleaner, he said, adding that, “By decreasing the cost of cars we will help get old cars off road and newer cars on the road.”

        Whether that actually will happen as claimed is far from certain. So is the question of how the changes the administration plans will actually impact the auto industry.

        “We’re not changing our strategy,” Art St. Cyr, the head of automotive operations for American Honda, told TheDetroitBureau.com on Wednesday, following the debut of the automaker’s first gas-electric SUV, the 2020 CR-V Hybrid. St. Cyr disputed the question of whether the push to electric vehicles would cost jobs, noting Honda invested $4.2 million to add production of the hybrid model at its Indiana plant, adding 34 jobs in the process.

        General Motors, meanwhile, proposed a $7 billion investment, most of that for production of electric vehicles, including a battery-powered pickup, as part of its initial settlement offer to the United Auto Workers Union. While the contract was rejected, and the UAW has gone on strike, the investment plan is expected to remain part of a final settlement.

        Wrapping up the Thursday morning news conference, EPA’s Wheeler said he believes the final rules will win widespread support, adding, “I hope California will put politics aside and also support it.”

        That seems unlikely. Even without final details of the Trump Administration’s mileage rule cuts, opponents have been weighing in with sharp criticism. And, during his own news conference on Wednesday, California’s Attorney-General Xavier Becerra made it clear the state will not readily accept losing its emissions waiver.

        (Trump Chides Automakers for Making Deal With California)

        “For us, this is about survival,” said Becerra. “Our communities are screaming for help to address the climate crisis. Unlike the Trump Administration, we don’t run scared. We’re prepared to lead. We’re prepared to fight. We’ll do what we must.”

        How to Care for Your Car

        Cheap Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice

        Best Extended Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice
        Recently Published

        The Rearview Mirror: “A Path Filled With Hardships”

        Today
        FIA Formula E 2023 Jakarta teams on track REL

        FIA’s Formula E is Changing the Way We Look at Racing

        Yesterday
        2024 Lexus TX - debut front 3-4

        Lexus Lifts the Covers Off New, Three-Row TX SUV

        Yesterday

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2023
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: