Profit from Punishment? Volkswagen’s Preferred Emissions Penance Faces...
Government officials and automakers are accusing Volkswagen of twisting its emissions-cheating penance to its own advantage. As part of its sentence for equipping over half a million vehicles with...
View ArticleCalifornia Demands VW Build Electric Charging Stations in Poor Neighborhoods
As part of its emissions cheating penance, Volkswagen AG previously agreed to support clean vehicles by injecting a juicy $2 billion into green initiatives in the United States. A whopping $800 million...
View ArticleOlder Volkswagen Diesels Potentially Saved From Execution After EPA Approves Fix
Nearly two years after the mother of all automotive scandals yanked nine years’ worth of Volkswagens out of the “law-abiding citizen” category and into the environmental slammer, U.S. regulators have...
View ArticleThe Smog State: Vehicle Emissions Still Rising in California, Despite...
Despite aggressive regulatory efforts to counter pollution, California emissions from on-road transportation rose by roughly 4.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2015 vs one year earlier,...
View ArticleUnited States Approves Fix for 38,000 Volkswagen Group 3.0-liter Diesel SUVs
On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it had approved a fix for the remaining 38,000 Volkswagen Group vehicles equipped with emissions-cheating 3.0-liter diesel engines. That’s...
View ArticleAccused VW Executive Claims to Have Been ‘Misused’ by Company
One of the handful of Volkswagen Group executives that have been forced to appear in front of a judge over the company’s widespread emission scandal, Oliver Schmidt, has exclaimed he was misused by his...
View ArticleGas Be Gone: California Working on Bill to Banish Internal Combustion Cars by...
California Assemblyman Phil Ting, a Democrat chairing the chamber’s budget committee, says he intends to introduce a bill that would allow the state’s motor vehicle department to register only...
View ArticleAutomakers Formally Take Aim at California’s Zero-emission Vehicle Mandate
Compared to the rest of the United States, California is on the bleeding edge of government-appointed environmentalism. When the Trump administration suggested reexamining Obama-era fuel economy and...
View ArticleIt’s Gonna Be a Showdown: EPA Head Says California Won’t Drive U.S. Fuel...
The Trump administration’s chief environmental regulator claims the Environmental Protection Agency will not pursue stricter fuel economy mandates after 2025. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt also said...
View ArticleEPA Readies Rollback of Fuel Efficiency Regulations
Rumors are flooding in that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt will sign a declaration upending the Obama-era fuel economy regulations any day now. New details have emerged...
View ArticleTriumph or Tragedy? EPA Officially Sides With Automakers on Fuel Economy...
It looks as if the United States will find out if softened fuel economy targets will transform the domestic market into a haven for automobiles with exquisite powertrains or an antiquated dinosaur with...
View ArticleFiat Chrysler Can Look Forward to a Big Summer Eco Payout
When Fiat Chrysler Automobiles regails the class with a “how I spend my summer” story this fall, expect some mention of handing over large sums of money to state and federal governments. The U.S....
View ArticleAmerica’s Gas War Begins
Now that the Environmental Protection Agency has officially confirmed its intent to roll back Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, the opposition has kicked things into high gear,...
View ArticleEPA Head Defends Fuel Economy Rules, Industry Ties On Capitol Hill
Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt spent the majority of his Thursday being raked over the coals by the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee before a second (even uglier) exchange...
View ArticleChevrolet Sonic Stages a Reappearance for 2019
Here today, gone tomorrow, back the next day. That’s basically the recent history of the Chevrolet Sonic, which formed the basis of a Wall Street Journal report earlier this spring. Chevrolet’s...
View ArticleAutomakers to White House: Make a Deal With California on Fuel Economy
Despite pressuring Donald Trump to lower corporate fuel economy mandates since practically day one of his presidency, automakers are now urging caution. The U.S. Transportation Department has drafted a...
View ArticleThis is a Mess: EPA Begins Quest to End California’s Fuel Waiver
The Trump administration has enacted phase two of its plan to revise Obama-era rules designed to cut pollution from vehicle emissions. In a proposal sent to the White House Office of Management and...
View ArticleGabbing on Gas: White House and California Still On Speaking Terms
Despite the growing animosity, both California and the Trump administration are still willing to discuss the country’s changing emission regulations. The state is currently heading a lawsuit against...
View ArticlePiston Slap: The Land Ark’s Backfiring Belly?
TTAC Commentator Land Ark writes: Hi Sajeev, it’s me again. I am nearing my wit’s end. My Impala has been out of commission for several months now and as I’ve been telling my friends, the Land Ark and...
View ArticleEndless Pressure and Public Scandal Leads to Pruitt’s Resignation as EPA Head
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, who spearheaded the Trump administration’s initiative to roll back Obama-era fuel economy standards for light vehicles, has resigned. Even...
View ArticleReplacement EPA Boss on Board With California Gas Confab
Following Andrew Wheeler’s appointment as acting head of the Environmental Protection Agency, he extended an invitation to the California Air Resources Board to discuss emission regulations — a matter...
View ArticleStates’ Rights: EPA Seeks ’50-State Solution’ for Fuel Rules, California...
Andrew Wheeler, the acting head of the Environmental Protection Agency, said the United States needs a single standard for fuel efficiency for cars and trucks on Tuesday. It’s a sentiment shared by...
View ArticleVW’s Electrify America Plots Second Batch of EV Charging Stations, Plug-in...
Volkswagen’s court-mandated subsidiary, Electrify America, has announced its second investment of $200 million into the nation’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and not a moment too soon....
View ArticleCalifornia Prepares Counteroffensive in Great American Gas War, Asks...
California is considering a formal, public counter-proposal to the Trump administration’s proposed rollback of the existing fuel economy requirements for passenger vehicles. Gearing up for the launch,...
View ArticleCalifornia Preps Formal Response in Gas War, Calls MPG Rollback ‘Unlawful’
California and 18 other states plan to formally vent their grievances over the Trump administration’s proposal to freeze fuel economy standards at 2020 levels on Friday. The Environmental Protection...
View ArticleGM: Current Fuel Economy Rules ‘Not Technologically Feasible’
General Motors appeared to endorse the Trump administration’s fuel economy rollback, at least to some degree. In a federal filing made public on Monday, the largest U.S. automaker said Obama-era rules...
View ArticleThe Country’s Cheapest Normal* Electric Breaks Out of California
That asterisk exists in the headline because the Smart EQ Fortwo is not a vehicle many families would consider useful as a lone driveway denizen. With two seats and a range of — wait for it — 58 miles,...
View ArticleWhite House to Automakers: Choose a Side in the Great Gas War
The Trump administration has long been at odds with California and a coalition of supportive states that hope to block the rollback of Obama-era fueling regulations the current Environmental Protection...
View ArticleCummins Looking Into Ram HD Engine Emissions Certification Process
Cummins, maker of the beastly 6.7-liter inline-six diesels found beneath the hoods of various Ram Heavy Duty pickups, claims it is looking into its emissions certification and compliance process. In a...
View ArticleMeet Us in the Middle: Automakers Plead for Peace, Compromise Between White...
The automotive industry is in turmoil. There’s an industrywide push toward electrification that has yet to prove itself as truly profitable, volume seems to be tapering off in the developed world, and...
View ArticleThe Great Gas War: House Committee Plans Hearing On Fuel Efficiency Rollback
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee said it will schedule a hearing on June 20th regarding the Trump administration’s proposal to roll back automotive efficiency...
View ArticleGas War Watch: UAW Goes to Congress, Sides With Automakers on Fuel Economy...
The United Auto Workers is spending Thursday telling Congress that the union opposes the Trump administration’s proposal to freeze fuel efficiency requirements at 2020 levels through 2026… sort of....
View ArticleGas War Watch: EPA and CARB Leadership Won’t Even Share the Same Table
Capitol Hill was the scene of some high-school drama this week after representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) reportedly refused to...
View ArticleGas War Watch: Canada Sides With California
Canada’s federal government announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding with California to further reduce vehicle emissions. It would appear that the United States’ neighbor to the north has...
View ArticleMild Misinformation About the Gas War: Governors Unite, Automakers Compromise
On Tuesday, 23 governors signed a joint statement urging the Trump administration to reconsider the proposed rollback of Obama-era fueling regulations. Led, unsurprisingly, by California Governor Gavin...
View ArticleFour Automakers Make a Deal With California Regarding Vehicle Emissions
While we’ve dinged the media for erroneously reporting that automakers were unilaterally “backing” California in the fuel-economy fracas that’s currently taking place within American politics, it...
View ArticleGas War: Antitrust Probe Opened Into Automakers Endorsing California...
The Justice Department has opened an antitrust probe into four automakers that formed a pact with California to compromise on tailpipe emissions, effectively circumventing federal regulators, last...
View ArticleGas War: EPA Head Suggests Fuel Rollback May Have Some Wiggle Room
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler weighed in on the gas war this week, issuing some firm language on the matter during a visit to Chattanooga, Tennessee. His words were...
View ArticleGas War: EPA Says California Has Worst Air Quality in the U.S., Threatens to...
With California gearing up for a legal battle against federal regulators eager to revoke its fuel waiver, we knew it wouldn’t be long before another salvo was launched in the gas war. However, the...
View ArticleBattle Lines Are Being Drawn in America’s Gas War
Ford Motor Co, Honda Motor Co, BMW Group and Volkswagen AG announced a voluntary deal with California in July — drawing a line in the sand for who they’ll be supporting in the fueling fracas taking...
View ArticleJustice Department Subpoenas Automakers Over California Emissions Pact
The Justice Department has issued civil subpoenas to the four major automakers’ that voluntary agreed to adopt a Californian compromise on vehicle emission requirements. The antitrust investigation...
View ArticleSilver and Gold: Nevada Joins California in the Gas War
On Monday, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak announced that his state will embrace California-crafted emissions rules that are at odds with the national rollback finalized by the Trump administration in...
View ArticleHauling In California? That Rig Had Better Be Green
The California Air Resource Board (CARB) just passed a mandate that will require manufacturers of big rigs, heavy duty pickups, and some construction equipment to adhere to new zero-emission quotas and...
View ArticleAmerican States Join Forces to Promote Electric Trucking
A bundle of U.S. states and the District of Columbia unveiled a joint memorandum of understanding on Tuesday targeting the proliferation of medium and heavy-duty electric vehicles. News of the...
View ArticleGas War: California Finalizes Side Deal With Automakers
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) made a slew of announcements on Monday regarding what types of vehicles will be allowed within the confines of its borders. These included everything from...
View ArticleCalifornia Urges Manufacturers to Tattle on Themselves
On Wednesday, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) urged manufacturers to disclose any unapproved hardware or software that might place a vehicle’s emissions outside of the acceptable parameters...
View ArticleGas War: California Regulators Say Biden Should Embrace State’s Emission Plan
While multiple states launch mandatory election recounts and President Trump throws around lawsuits like confetti Joe Biden and the mainstream media are preparing for his ascension from regular old man...
View ArticleGas War: Ford Urges Other Automakers to Join the Californian Coalition
The Ford Motor Company is asking automakers to join it in supporting Californian vehicle emissions targets aimed at supplanting the rollback that was supposed to become the national standard. General...
View ArticleCalifornia Wins the Gas War, Fickle Automotive Coalition Realigns Position
The Coalition for Sustainable Automotive Regulation (CSAR) is officially withdrawing from a lawsuit between California and federal authorities over the coastal state’s ability to establish its own...
View ArticleJudge Approves Daimler AG’s $1.5 Billion Diesel Emissions Settlement
On Tuesday, a federal judge approved a $1.5 billion settlement to pump the brakes on an investigation conducted by the U.S. government pursuing claims that Daimler used illicit software that allowed...
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