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JAN
09
2013

California Gets Waiver Concerning The Advanced Clean Cars Program

According to a recent article, the Environmental Protection Agency has recently granted a waiver that allows California to move forward with what’s called the Advanced Clean Cars Program.

The EPA has reported that this waiver allows the State to implement fuel efficiency standards that are tougher than the standards announced by the White House previously.

These standards would eventually integrate vehicles that are considered to be zero-emission into the California market.

The idea behind these new standards and potentially tougher standards for California vehicles is to clean up the environment by allowing zero-emission vehicles to replace “dirty” technology and help consumers to save at the pump. The state’s goal is to reach a 15 percentage of new vehicle sales being fully composed of electric and hybrid technologies by 2025. Although many Californians have voiced their support to the potentially tougher standards, many critics are saying that the new requirements would drive the price of vehicles up, which could have a dramatic impact on the state’s economy. Some critics have also reported that the fuel savings that the government claims may not be met in real-life driving situations, which could also undermine the effort.

Official reports show that California’s new regulations could cost Californians about $2,000 more to purchase a new vehicle while supporters of the new standards say that in spite of the increase in the cost of production, drivers would eventually save up to $6,000 in fuel costs.

Consumers are said to pay close attention to fuel efficiency when buying a vehicle. They also look for safety features, performance, cargo capacity, and many other factors. Safety advocates are urging automakers to avoid sacrificing safety features in order to make vehicles more fuel efficient, which could be a result of the enactment of this new, tougher standard.

Because of a lack of charging station infrastructure in the state of California, the government has prompted a series of new subsidies for alternative fuel-powered vehicles, which would drive the price of these vehicles down.

Critics believe the government should interfere less with this process in order to allow for the market to adjust its products in order to meet the needs of consumers, which would create a competitive base and generate better infrastructure and create a demand for more fuel efficient vehicles without having to ask for the government for a financial push.

Despite all criticism, it’s important that automakers are working on manufacturing safer and more economical vehicles.

For more on this story, click here.

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The Vachon Law Firm is based in Southern California and focuses exclusively on consumer protection litigation.