Trump plans to weaken fuel efficiency rules for cars and trucks

[Zorro]

Executives from Ford, GM and Stellantis will be at the White House Wednesday as Trump rolls back rules pushing automakers to sell more electric cars.

The Trump administration plans to announce the rollback of fuel efficiency rules for U.S. cars and trucks at a White House event this afternoon attended by executives from the country’s biggest automakers.

President Donald Trump has long derided such rules as an “EV mandate” that hurts the auto industry and raises car prices. He teased the upcoming announcement at a televised cabinet meeting Tuesday, saying, “We’re bringing back the automobile business.”

Executives from General Motors, Ford and Stellantis will be at the White House to mark the announcement.

“We appreciate President Trump’s leadership in aligning fuel economy standards with market realities,” Ford CEO Jim Farley, who will attend the announcement, wrote in a statement. “We can make real progress on carbon emissions and energy efficiency while still giving customers choice and affordability. This is a win for customers and common sense.”

White House officials did not answer questions about what changes they planned to make to fuel economy standards. But Trump’s signature second-term legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, eliminated financial penalties for car companies that don’t meet federal fuel efficiency standards.

https://wapo.st/3KFDJrF

Yay! More dirty air!

[Attilatheblond]

1. So, all the checks from automakers and Big Oil cleared and are showing as deposits in his bank account.

[DSandra]

2. While China is continuing to kick America's ass in EV vehicles...

[Hey Joe]

3. I can see it now .....

Now more inefficient than ever! New for 2026 - The Ford F-950 Rollin' Coal Edition! It's actually COAL POWERED! So you can roll more coal and burn it too! Guaranteed to throw more noxious soot than our leading competitors!
Accompanying coal trailer extra!
I can see the magabillys now, lining up at the dealerships in droves.
Jesus Christ on a trailer hitch...

[haele]

4. Fuel efficiency standards cover a lot of standards...

Not just environmental.
I remember "beginner cars" back in the 1980's - a Pinto Hatchback generally got 25/28, just a bit better than a basic 4 banger Ford Ranger with 4 on the floor (kids, ask your parents what that means).
While my dad's old 1960 2 door Valiant, considered one of the first compact cars, got around 12/15 mpg. When gas was 25/30¢ a gallon, it wasn't so painful to fill up, that was still a lot of money; I remember him complaining in the early 1970's when it finally cost him $10 to fill up after a longish trip and he decided he needed to get one of those newer, cheaper made cars that could get up to 18 to 20 mpg on the highway.
Fuel efficiency lead to better engineering when it came to the engine performance as well as environment. It ended up saving people money, as they used less fuel and still got the same amount of vroom.
Removing standards so manufacturers don't need to build better cars is not a matter of "facing the reality of the auto business", it's just the continuation of the enshittification of US business to quickly and easily make money off consumers, not to bring an actual product with value to market..

[MichMan]

5. GM's Barra Says Tough Auto Mileage Rules Risked Plant Shutdowns

(Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co. faced the prospect of needing to cut production of gasoline-fueled vehicles if electric-vehicle sales failed to grow as needed under ambitious fuel economy requirements enacted by President Joe Biden, company Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra said.

Fuel efficiency standards now being rolled back under President Donald Trump would have required a fleet average of about 50 miles per gallon by 2031. That effectively meant that most carmakers would have to get more than half of their sales from EVs by that time.

If those EV sales didn’t materialize — and the rules weren’t reduced by Biden in response — GM would have had to limit sales of gasoline-powered vehicles and possibly shut down some of its production, Barra said at the New York Times Dealbook conference in New York on Wednesday.

“We were going to have to start shutting down plants,” Barra said.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/gm-s-barra-says-tough-auto-mileage-rules-risked-plant-shutdowns/ar-AA1REiGC?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=LCTS&cvid=6930ca569a1e44d88d66e91dd8baccca&ei=11