zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Culture
/
The Battle To Outperform Each Other On Environmentalism Is Well Underway For Automakers
The Battle To Outperform Each Other On Environmentalism Is Well Underway For Automakers-November 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:12:32

Image for article titled The Battle To Outperform Each Other On Environmentalism Is Well Underway For Automakers

Last week, GM announced that it and the Trump administration’s emissions regulations policy, which GM had supported until nearly the minute it became clear that Joe Biden would be the next president of the United States. GM urged other automakers to follow its lead; not long after Ford urged the same thing.

Reuters , which comes in the form of a letter sent last week by Ford Americas President Kumar Galhotra. The letter, sent to other automakers but seen by Reuters today, was sent a couple of days after GM made its dramatic announcement.

In a previously unreported letter, Ford Americas President Kumar Galhotra on Wednesday said with Biden’s win, the fight over Trump’s effort to preempt California on vehicle emissions “is now, at least for the next set of years, essentially moot. The more relevant issue is thus the question of the standards.”

Galhotra urged automakers “to actively consider embracing the California framework.”

He added: “The Biden Administration will not let the Trump standards stand, and either by way of litigation and/or a regulatory reboot, the new team will move in a different, more stringent direction.”

It’s probably not an accident that the letter eventually found its way to a Reuters reporter, since Ford has all the incentive in the world to push itself as an eco-friendly car company, as it did in , specifically shaming automakers like GM, Fiat Chrysler, and Toyota for not siding with California in the emissions dispute.

And while it was admirable for Ford to make a deal with California before the election — along with BMW, Volkswagen, Volvo, and Honda — now that Biden’s been elected the math has changed a little bit, since the deal those companies cut with California includes emissions standards that are weaker than the Obama-era emissions standards that the Trump administration is trying to undo. It seems like, if anything, however, that the Biden administration will seek to not only reinstate the Obama-era rules but also possibly strengthen them, meaning the choice to go with the California deal would be a no-brainer for automakers if they could lock it in long-term, possibly by coalescing around it and convincing the Biden administration that they had solved this whole car emissions regulations thing.

And while the automakers might try to sell that as their own effort to go green, it’s not really, since we know that probably isn’t enough and companies complying with government regulations isn’t an achievement. It’s literally the least automakers can do.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Culture
Chips and Recalls Left Ford Reeling in 2022
Chips and Recalls Left Ford Reeling in 2022
2022 did not pan out the way Ford was expecting it to at all, Elon Musk’s trial over a tweet is drawing to an end, and Honda’s dealer and service network isn’t liking anything it’s hearing on the automaker’s plans for Afeela. All that and more in this Friday...
Nov 10, 2025
At Least One Tesla Is Getting More Expensive These Days
At Least One Tesla Is Getting More Expensive These Days
The Model Y remains in the crosshair of Tesla’s price antics, Nissan and Renault’s plan for the future heavily involves North America and Faraday Future just began the week with a win, the way we all wish we could. All that and more in for Monday, February 6, 2023....
Nov 10, 2025
These Women Won't Let Fear Stop Them from Hitchhiking
These Women Won't Let Fear Stop Them from Hitchhiking
were once . That is until increased private car ownership, long haul buses and a spate of road-based serial killers made the practice seem no just impractical, but incredibly dangerous — especially for women. Some women, however, are braving the practice once again in an attempt to see the...
Nov 10, 2025
Game Developer Explains Why New Racing Games Suck at Car Damage
Game Developer Explains Why New Racing Games Suck at Car Damage
“We all know racing games claim to be real,” former NASCAR driver Jason Jarrett once said in a commercial for the . The TV ad for 2000's Jarrett & Labonte Stock Car Racing staged two Audi A4 touring cars side by side — one representing how cars get banged...
Nov 10, 2025
Ferrari Couldn't Be Stopped Last Year
Ferrari Couldn't Be Stopped Last Year
Ferrari can do no wrong, Tesla’s suppliers are peeved at its price shenanigans and electric semis have a big problem. All that and more in this Thursday edition of for February 2, 2023. It must be a ball running Ferrari, the one manufacturer that can truly claim an insatiable,...
Nov 10, 2025
Ford Is Planning Some Kind of One-Off High Performance F-150 Lightning
Ford Is Planning Some Kind of One-Off High Performance F-150 Lightning
If you’re thinking about fast Fords, what springs to mind? ? What about ? How about a modified F-150 Lightning to show off a new sponsorship deal for Ford? Well, that’s what it sounds like we might soon get to see according to details shared by Ford as it...
Nov 10, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved