Why target the automakers rather than getting Congress to pass fuel efficiency regulations?
Unfortunately US government regulation of fuel efficiency has made no movement in over 30 years and looks to stay the same under the current administration. The average fuel-economy of new vehicles today is worse than it was ten years ago. The tremendous lobbying power of automakers and oil companies is the reason why. They don’t want regulation of fuel efficiency or of greenhouse gas pollution and fight against every positive policy incentive. For example, the automakers lobbied to keep oil-reducing fuel efficiency standards out of the 2005 Energy Bill, and they won; the bill says it aims to end our dependence on foreign oil but doesn’t require the automakers to lift a finger to help. Another example: The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers is has filed a federal lawsuit to overturn California’s popular new vehicle emissions standards, the nation’s first ever law to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution and the most advanced automotive GHG reduction targets in the world. Because the
