U.S. Raises Fuel-Efficiency Requirements for Cars and Light Trucks - WSJ

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Monday that it would require auto makers to achieve a fleetwide average of 55 miles a gallon by model year 2026, up from a standard of 43 mpg set during the Trump administration

More government-imposed market distortions to be soon followed by producer gimmicks.

In total they would cut nationwide emissions by nearly 2%, based on EPA estimates.

And therein lies the rub. Upending an entire industry to make a statistically meaningless impact, especially when compared to the increasing emissions outputs of Russia, China, and India.

Why are we ruining our lives with no appreciable benefit?

“We are setting robust and rigorous standards that will aggressively reduce the pollution that is harming people and our planet—and save families money at the same time,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.

False logic. These technology changes are going to increase the cost of new (and later used) cars by a factor of $1,000s while “saving” a family on their annual fuel bills by a factor of $100s.

“Achieving the goals of this final rule will undoubtedly require enactment of supportive governmental policies—including consumer incentives, substantial infrastructure growth, fleet requirements, and support for U.S. manufacturing and supply-chain development,” he said.

That was fast. The automotive industry is already claiming they can’t meet these goals without more taxpayer subsidies.