Last week, General Motors, the largest automaker in the U.S., said it would phase out the manufacturing of gas-powered cars by 2035, the same year California will no longer allow their sale, as stipulated in an order issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom last September.
Environmentalists cheered GMâs announcement, and The New York Times trumpeted it as a âseismic shiftâ in the auto industry, claiming âthe days of the internal combustion engine are numbered.â
In a series of tweets, Newsom called GMâs announcement a âgame changerâ and took a little credit for budging the company on the issue, through use of a popular internet meme.
How it started: How it's going: pic.twitter.com/WBhdJPCm7C
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) January 29, 2021
Interestingly, though, the response of the person whom Newsom recently appointed as the chair of the California Air Resources Board was markedly less enthusiastic.
Liane Randolph took a glass half-empty view of GMâs announcement.
.@GM & @mtbarra, we appreciate your aspiration for #zeroemission vehicles by 2035 but if youâre serious about making real progress today, stop defending the Trump vehicle emission rollbacks & join the California framework#cleanair #publichealth https://t.co/zaclZX4Hfz
— Liane Randolph (@mslianeran) January 28, 2021
Thereâs a backstory to the agencyâs chilly response.
When President Trump weakened federal auto emission standards set by the Obama administration, California kept enforcing its more stringent standards, suing the administration over the rollback.
Meanwhile, the state negotiated an agreement with Honda, Ford and three other major automakers for the companies to manufacture all cars sold in the U.S. using the stricter standard.
The Trump administration responded by issuing a rule that blocked California, as well as any other state, from setting their own car rules, revoking the federal waiver that allowed California to set stricter standards for tailpipe emissions. So, the state sued again.
Notably, GM, along with Toyota and other car companies, refused to sign on to Californiaâs agreement and sided with the federal government in both legal fights.
The companyâs public line was that California and the Trump administration should find common ground. But it also argued that only the federal government has the ultimate authority over fuel-emission standards.
A few weeks after Trump lost to Biden, the automaker abandoned the legal fight over whether or not California can set its own rules. (On Tuesday several car companies, including Toyota and Fiat Chrysler, did likewise, dropping their support for that lawsuit.)
But Randolph notes GM is still defending Trumpâs diluted fuel-economy standard, even as the company says it will invest $27 billion in electric and autonomous cars in the next five years and offer 30 all-electric models worldwide by 2025.
GM did not respond to a request for comment.
Copyright 2021 KQED