Four major auto manufacturers – Ford, Volkswagen, Honda and BMW – have made a deal with California to conform with local standards for auto emissions. In doing so, they have rejected the Trump Administration’s plans to reverse regulations put in place by the Obama Administration that required substantial improvements in auto fuel efficiency.
How are we to react to this?
I expect most conservatives to be delighted to see states set their own rules rather than relying on rules dictated by out of touch inside-the-beltway politicians.
I expect those who favor free markets to welcome corporate executives determining the plans for their companies, rather than accepting regulations promulgated inside the beltway.
I expect progressives to be happy because the goal of the emissions standards is to assist in combatting climate change,
So is there any reason any here would not celebrate this rejection of the Trump Administration’s vaunted de-regulation agenda?
I see one reason to not celebrate it by some here. It is clearly not a victory for Trump. But you points are valid…it seems to be a win for everyone else. Good post.
He couched it in terms of Trump allowing them to have lower standards was an anit-conservative government regulation forcing a company to do something, so yes, it matters in that context whether it was forced or allowed.
Trump was not proposing more pollution; he was rolling back standards from the Obama Administration that would have led to less pollution – in effect his actions would lead to greater pollution. The interesting thing was Trump was pursuing this without much demand from the auto industry… but for Trump it was part of his agenda of erasing everything his predecessor did.
That might be true. But if the industry decides to do it on their own how is that a loss for Trump? My guess it is too expensive to change up the lines now. However they won’t be obligated to change to something new later.
My car complies with those regulations and it’s not weak at all.
1.5L Turbo with 205 horses and 210 ft lbs of torque. The car only weighs 3000 pounds so it moves briskly when you dump the clutch and launch it hard. It’s not “fast” if you’re used to the Infiniti but it’s not slow either.
It’s about power to weight and torque curve more so than pure power.
That’s why my bone stock 99 LS1 Trans Am could dust Challenger RTs through the quarter mile despite being down 75 horses. The TA weighs about 3600 pounds; a Challenger RT is a pig at 4100 pounds.
Now after that the extra power allows them to pull ahead.
Not true. The two best selling vehicles in the United States are the F-150 and Chevrolet Silverado, two notorious gas guzzlers, along with the 3/4 ton and 1 ton variants of both. The Ram series is also in the top ten.
If you look at the top ten ranking you’ll see that the full size D3 trucks mostly dominate and large cross overs are overtaking midsize and full size cars.
