Return of the Gas-Guzzler? Trump’s New Law May Mean Thirstier Engines

President Donald Trump’s nixing of fines for automakers failing to meet corporate average fuel economy standards through his new budget law guts the regulations and will encourage the return of the gas-guzzler, analysts and environmental organizations say.

The spending and tax law eliminates fines for automakers that fail to meet CAFE standards, regulations set by NHTSA.

The industry may “begin to fall back into producing less efficient engines,” said Tom Alongi, a partner at UHY, a national accounting and advisory firm. “Maybe we turn back and go, ‘Hey, maybe those V-8s aren’t so bad anymore.’”

To be sure, automakers have still continued to produce fuel-inefficient vehicles, such as the 2021 Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport, which got an estimated 8 mpg for city driving and 13 mpg for highway.

But CAFE did impose increasingly substantial fines for average fuel economies above the applicable standards. It is credited with pushing automakers to develop more efficient vehicles. And it created a lucrative market for the least polluting fleets, such as those from electric vehicle manufacturers, to sell credits.

While some automakers may breathe a sigh of relief as fuel economy standards are loosened, other stakeholders see stark negatives.

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