Auto standards rollback threatens West Coast

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The West Coast sought to clear the air on Monday as the Trump administration signaled it will roll back fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks set in motion six years ago by the Obama administration.

The message: We're not backing down.

"We believe that strong vehicle fuel economy standards not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality, but also make us competitive in the growing global market for clean cars," said a statement signed by governors of Washington, Oregon and California.

"The nation is no track to meet the current standards and will not change course at the expense of our economic strength, health and quality of life."

The statement was also signed by mayors from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Portland and Seattle.

The officials noted that they represent a West Coast ("Left Coast" to Wall Street Journal editorial writers) region of 55 million people with a combined Gross Domestic Product of $3 trillion -- a region driving the country's economy.

Since 1970, under Clean Air Act provisions, California has largely authored its own air pollution rules, followed by states representing a third of the nation's automobile market.

More than 350,000 zero and low emission vehicles are on the road in the rapidly growing West Coast market. The three states have in place more than 17,500 publicly accessible electric vehicle charging stations.

https://www.seattlepi.com/local/politics/article/Connelly-Easing-auto-standards-threatens-West-12800490.php?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailynewsletterspi&utm_term=spi

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. Another example of rump trying to kill me, I wish he would stop trying to kill me

[DBoon]

2. I remember Los Angeles smog from the 1970s

You would look straight up and the sky would be brown

You could not see mountains that were rwo miles away

You were advised to stay indoors for days at a time due to unhealthy air

I will do whatever it takes to ensure we do not return to this

[ProfessorGAC]

3. Still Not Getting This

This seems symbolic nonsense to me. Red meat for the "hate the government" types.

What are the automakers going to do and how do they benefit? Retool all the plants to start making gas guzzlers and change all their advertising and marketing plans? The costs would annihilate any benefit.

This whole "rollback" is meaningless, at least in the short term. (At least 5 years?)

[jmowreader]

4. I think this is all about pickups and large SUVs

That's what's selling now, and they're getting bigger - the Colorado, which used to be a "compact" pickup, is now almost as big as a "full-size" Silverado. (2018 Colorado: 140.50" wheelbase, 224.90" overall length; 2018 Silverado: 143.50" wheelbase, 230.03" overall length.) The manufacturers have three options: convince people they don't need huge trucks (hard to do when people want even huger ones), pay fines and penalties (all together now: "yeah, right!&quot , or get the regulations changed. And since they paid good money to put Trump in the White House, the third option is how they're going to go.