Last October, the Obama administration announced that it is considering raising auto fuel economy standards to as high as 62 mpg by 2025. The move went mostly under the radar.
The White House has said it is considering a range of fuel economy standards for 2017 to 2025, with 62 mpg being on the high end, and the alliance said it is working closely with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department on the new rules.
Republicans and businesses are, predictably, freaking out, including the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. According to the Wall Street Journal a week and a half ago the trade group sent a letter to Congressmen Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) and Fred Upton (R., Mich.) to complain. These two men are now chairs of pertinent House committees thanks to the 2010 midterm election.
“A rushed effort toward a state rulemaking is not in the spirit of a collaborative effort to develop a single national program” for rules on fuel economy and greenhouse-gas emissions, the auto alliance stated.
Unless the federal government continues to push automakers (ALL automakers), change will simply not come. And by making this a federal standard, it ensures a level playing field for the entire industry.
I’m giving it a double thumbs up.
I’m just sayin’…
