Vehicle stop-start features, which automatically turn off engines at red lights, could soon become less prevalent because of the Trump administration’s announced repeal of the government finding underlying many Environmental Protection Agency emissions rules.
The stop-start feature, also known as the idle stop system, in cars is a fuel-saving function that turns off the engine when the car comes to a complete stop and then turns back on when the brake pedal or gas pedal is pressed. The Trump administration has argued that the feature is disliked by many consumers and has not reduced emissions.
The vehicle feature may come to an end following the finalization on Thursday of the rule that would rescind the 2009 Endangerment Finding, resulting in the termination of tailpipe emission standards for all vehicles and engines with model years 2012 to 2027 and beyond, including fuel-saving features in cars like stop-start.
“We are ending the federal government’s push to get manufacturers to install that ‘Obama switch,’ the almost universally despised start-stop feature,” Zeldin said at the White House.
“There will be no more climate participation trophies awarded to manufacturers for making Americans’ cars die at every red light and stop sign,” he said.
The EPA has argued that rescinding the finding will address the costs and uncertainties automakers face in meeting emission standards. Zeldin noted that the rescinded finding would save consumers $2,400 on a new vehicle.
The stop-start systems are not mandated under current law, but automakers are pressured to add them to new models, and the majority of new vehicles do feature them.
Specifically, the EPA is undoing the rules, originally created by the Obama administration, that allowed automakers to gain credits for “off-cycle” technology, such as automatic start-stop features, to meet greenhouse gas emission standards.
The Trump EPA, in a press release, said the credit instead served as a “regulatory loophole” that did not deliver reductions in emissions.
In a press release, Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said, “This Administration is taking a whole-of-government approach to make cars more affordable again.”
“Whether it’s resetting mileage standards or abolishing an idiotic start-stop requirement that every driver hates, President Trump’s auto dream team is working overtime to lower costs and revitalize American manufacturing,” Duffy said.
Since taking office, the Trump administration has repealed policies that support EV adoption set by the Biden administration, which he has dubbed a national “EV mandate.”
Those policy rollbacks include repealing a waiver that allows California to impose its own emissions regulations and eventually ban the sale of gas cars, and terminating subsidies for consumer purchases of electric vehicles.
TRUMP REPEALS LANDMARK CLIMATE RULE, AXING EMISSIONS RULES FOR VEHICLES
In a statement, the Zero Emission Transportation Association executive director, Albert Gore, said that rescinding the finding established “huge risk and uncertainty in the regulatory framework on which sustained economic growth has depended for decades, and pulls the rug out from companies that have invested in manufacturing next-gen vehicles across the United States.”
“That this takes place following a record year of global sales of these vehicles shows a clear disconnect between Washington and the market,” Gore said.
