Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Friday 26 July 2019

Calif. skirts Trump, signs mileage deal with 4 automakers

By TOM KRISHER and ELLEN have gone up by 4.7% per
KNICKMEYER year through 2025 under
Associated Press the Obama standards, ac-
DETROIT (AP) — Four major cording to California.
automakers have reached Automakers could get 1
a deal with California to percentage point of the in-
toughen standards for gas crease by using advanced
mileage and greenhouse technology credits such
gas emissions, bypassing as those for hydrogen fuel
the Trump administration’s cell, plug-in gas-electric hy-
push to relax mileage stan- brids, and battery electric
dards nationwide instead. vehicles. And they would
Ford, BMW, Honda and get credits for devices that
Volkswagen signed the aren’t counted in EPA test
deal with the California cycles such as stopping the
Air Resources Board, the engine at red lights and re-
state’s air pollution regu- starting it quickly when the
lator, which had been at driver wants to go. The pro-
odds with the Trump ad- cess would be streamlined
ministration for months, in to get credits approved for
a contest that automakers new technologies.
fear could set up years of In this Dec. 10, 2015, file photo, vehicles make their way westbound on Interstate 80 across the The automakers also
confusion and litigation in San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as seen from Treasure Island in San Francisco. agreed to recognize Cali-
the industry. California has Associated Press fornia’s authority to set
said it would exercise its That means the fleet of consultant who does work lay a final rule that’s sup- its own standards, which
powers to set more strin- new vehicles would have for the auto industry and posed to come from the are followed by at least a
gent pollution and mileage to average around 36 miles environmental groups, said federal government in Au- dozen other states, and
standards than the federal per gallon in real-world the deal is clearly designed gust or September, keep- they will not challenge the
government has proposed. driving by 2026. The deal to get the rest of the auto ing the current standards state’s authority, accord-
The Trump administration also slightly slows the rate industry on board and to in place longer. For the ing to the statement.
reacted strongly to the end of growth in the early years force the Trump administra- automakers, it’s not much The National Highway Traf-
run, with Environmental “to provide additional lead tion to the bargaining table different from how they fic Safety Administration,
Protection Agency spokes- time” for the auto industry, with California. were preparing to meet which draws up federal
man Michael Abboud call- the statement said. “This really puts California the Obama administration standards with the EPA,
ing it a “PR stunt.” The four automakers see in a much stronger posi- standards, he said. said the government con-
“The federal government, the California agreement tion because this really puts Under the agreement, fuel tinues to work on a final fuel
not a single state, should set as “insurance” to provide some pressure on the fed- economy and correspond- economy rule that will ap-
this standard,” White House some certainty to the indus- eral government,” Baum ing greenhouse gas emis- ply to all automakers. The
spokesman Judd Deere try and the state no matter said. “These four automak- sions standards would rise administration’s proposals
said. The Trump administra- who wins the 2020 presi- ers don’t want to be out on by 3.7% per year starting do not prevent any auto-
tion would keep going on dential elections, accord- an island here. They would with the 2022 model year, maker from designing and
its competing effort to relax ing to a person familiar with like their competitors to do through 2026, according to building highly fuel-efficient
mileage standards nation- the talks who asked not this as well.” the statement from the four vehicles, the agency said
wide, Deere said. to be identified because He said the deal could de- automakers. They would in a statement.q
The administration has details of the negotiations
sought to freeze Obama haven’t been made pub-
administration standards, lic. The four automakers Aborted embryo suit rests on Alabama
keeping fleetwide new- represent only about 30%
vehicle mileage at 2021 of U.S. new-vehicle sales. ‘unborn rights’ policy
levels of about 30 mpg. The The Alliance of Automo-
administration says the ex- bile Manufacturers, which HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — In Huntsville. A probate judge time that that happened
tra expense to comply with represents a dozen auto- a case that spotlights Ala- earlier this year took the abortion was legal in Ala-
the requirements will raise makers in and out of the bama’s state policy recog- unusual step of opening bama and still is,” said Sara
the price of new cars, mak- California deal, said in a nizing “the rights of unborn an estate for the aborted Tucker, an attorney repre-
ing them unaffordable and statement that the industry children,” a judge is decid- embryo, known as “Baby senting the clinic. Magers
depriving buyers of new still wants nationwide stan- ing whether to dismiss a Roe” in court filings, after and his then-girlfriend were
safety technology. Many dards with year-over-year wrongful death lawsuit filed Magers’ attorney cited a both teenagers when she
experts, including former mileage increases that fit by the father of an aborted newly approved Alabama got pregnant in 2017. The
EPA engineers, challenge with what people are now embryo against the clinic constitutional amendment suit says Magers pleaded
the administration’s argu- buying, SUVs and trucks. where his ex-girlfriend ob- saying its state policy to with the young woman
ment. The administration “Today’s announcement tained an abortion. recognize the “rights of not to have an abortion
also has threatened to of the framework of an WHNT-TV reports Madison unborn children.” A lawyer but she did so anyway. The
challenge California’s abil- agreement by California County District Judge Chris for the clinic told the judge suit names the clinic where
ity to set its own standards. and certain automakers Comer heard arguments in Wednesday that there is no Magers contends his for-
In a statement Thursday, acknowledges that the Ryan Magers’ lawsuit dur- wrongful death because mer girlfriend received an
California regulators said MY2022-2025 standards ing a hearing Wednesday abortion is legal. The clinic abortion-inducting medi-
their deal delays by one developed by the Obama but did not rule. has asked the judge to dis- cation when she was six
year the new-vehicle fuel administration are not at- Magers is serving as repre- miss the case. “The bottom weeks pregnant. Magers’
efficiency requirements ap- tainable and need to be sentative of the aborted line here is that this is a sim- attorney, Brent Helms, said,
proved under the Obama adjusted,” said the state- embryo’s estate in the ple case. They have sued “there’s never been a case
administration for model ment from the alliance. lawsuit against the Ala- for the wrongful death like this in the United States
years 2022 through 2025. Alan Baum, a Detroit-area bama Women’s Center in of an embryo and at the of America.” q