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Automakers drop support for Trump effort against California emissions

WASHINGTON — Toyota, Fiat Chrysler (now known as Stellantis following its merger with Peugeot) and other major automakers said on Tuesday they were joining General Motors in abandoning support for former President Donald Trump's effort to bar California from setting its own zero emission vehicle rules. The automakers, which also included Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi, Mazda and Subaru, said in a joint statement they were withdrawing from an ongoing legal challenge to California's emission-setting powers, "in a gesture of good faith and to find a constructive path forward" with President Joe Biden. The automakers, along with the National Automobile Dealers Association, said they were aligned "with the Biden administrationÂ’s goals to achieve year-over-year improvements in fuel economy standards." Nissan in December withdrew from the challenge after GM's decision in November shocked the industry and won praise from Biden. On Monday, the Justice Department asked the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia to put the California emissions litigation on hold to "ensure due respect for the prerogative of the executive branch to reconsider the policy decisions of a prior administration." Biden has directed agencies to quickly reconsider TrumpÂ’s 2019 decision to revoke CaliforniaÂ’s authority to set its own auto tailpipe emissions standards and require rising numbers of zero-emission vehicles, as well as Trump's national fuel economy rollback. Asked to respond to the automakers' action, White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy said in a statement that "after four years of putting us in reverse, it is time to restart and build a sustainable future, grow domestic manufacturing, and deliver clean cars for America." California Governor Gavin Newsom praised the automakers on Twitter for "dropping your climate-denying, air-polluting, Trump-era lawsuit against CA" and urged them to join the voluntary framework. TALKS WITH BIDEN Separately, an industry trade group on Tuesday proposed to start talks with Biden on revised fuel economy standards that would be higher than Trump-era standards but lower than ones set during the prior Democratic administration. The Trump administration in March finalized a rollback of U.S. Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards to require 1.5% annual increases in efficiency through 2026, well below the 5% yearly boosts under the Obama administration rules it discarded.

2017 Toyota 86 Drivers' Notes | Fun, even with an automatic

The Toyota 86 is a car that enthusiasts begged Toyota to build for decades. It's small, lightweight and rear-wheel drive. Thanks to a partnership with Subaru that resulted in the BRZ, this stylish coupe hit the streets in 2012. In the U.S., the car was originally known as the Scion FR-S but was rebadged as a Toyota after Scion was axed last year. Along with a new name, the 86 received updated styling both inside and out as well as a revised suspension and a slight bump in power, at least for the manual models. This Hot Lava-colored car doesn't feature Toyota's slick six-speed manual. Instead it rocks a six-speed automatic with paddle shifters. While some enthusiasts may look down at that, automatics make up more than half of 86 sales. Still, the bones are there, and some people don't think the automatic is all that bad. Either way, we can't encourage enough people to buy these cars, as we want Toyota and Subaru to keep building them. Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder: When I first slid behind the wheel of the 86, I was surprised to see the gear selector and paddles. It's one of those cars that you don't think of as having anything but a manual transmission. Also, in an interior where all the controls and displays are underwhelming, a set of paddle shifters stands out as one of the few tactile objects in the cabin. I ended up using the paddles quite a bit, and found that I actually enjoyed using them, so much so that I'd actually consider opting for the automatic transmission were I to buy an 86. Despite shifts that aren't as razor sharp as they could be, the car's high-revving engine means that it still feels great to use. Riding an engine like this up to its redline, filling the cabin with noise, is the sort of thing that'll give you goosebumps. Being able to keep both hands on the wheel while shifting is a good thing for engagement in this car, based on my time with it. Plus, when I got stuck in traffic, I didn't have to wear out my left leg. The other brilliant thing about the Toyota 86 is its sense of balance. I loved the way it communicated its load distribution when cornering, whether on or off the throttle or brake. The fact that the nose of this car snaps right to where you want it when you start dialing in steering angle is satisfying. And its low stance and good view out the windshield make it really easy to place on the road.

Subaru confirms 2015 WRX STI to grace Detroit show stand

Now that we've seen and driven the 2015 Subaru WRX, it's time to set our sights on the car's more powerful and traditionally massively winged counterpart: the STI. And while a few rumors about the new STI have already leaked, Subaru today confirmed that we'll be seeing the hotter 'Rex at the Detroit Auto Show later this month. Hot diggity.
Last we heard, the new STI will still use a turbocharged, 2.5-liter boxer-four (remember, the standard WRX uses a version of the 2.0-liter engine found in the Forester) producing something like 300 horsepower and 290 pound-feet of torque. What's more, don't expect the STI to hatch a five-door variant - Subaru recently told us that there are no plans to offer anything beyond a sedan bodystyle for both versions of the WRX. Sad trombone, we know.
That said, if our time with the 2015 WRX sedan is anything to go by, this new STI should be pretty rad. The new WRX is significantly sharper than the outgoing model (in terms of driving dynamics, anyway - it's still a pretty ugly little thing), and we fully expect the STI to be a bulgier, harsher, more powerful and aggressive version of the already awesome street-legal rally car. We're just hoping it will be offered with WRC-correct gold wheels, too.