Legislation

My son asked what would happen if his finger were in the path of the electric window when it closed. I suggested we stick a piece of Red Vine licorice in the window to find out. The results weren't pretty, though to this day I'm still finding tiny bits of red licorice stuck in the channels of the window frame. Boys...

In a survey of 30 congressional districts in the Midwest and Southeast, it was "found that nearly nine out of ten voters want mandatory increases in fuel efficiency." In fact, to be specific, they want the House of Representatives to pass the same CAFE standards as the Senate passed two months ago: 35 mpg for cars and trucks by 2020, and chose that over a slightly less strict competing bill. Even more startling: 85% of the respondents wanted compliance brought up to

In this corner, we have the current champion, weighing in at a pretty and firm (classified), the Speaker of the House Nancy "Leader of the Pack" Pelosiiiii! And, in the far corner, we have the challenger, a battler with a long, long record of victories, that Congressman from the great state of Michigan and current chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, none other than Rep. John (The Dingellsaurus)

If you think that the Detroit 3 are the only ones worried about the new CAFE standards, think again. As it turns out, Honda and Toyota execs are supporting a fuel economy bill, but not all parts of the ones proposed. In fact, it almost seems as though they don't want to see their American competition die a legislative death, as Ed Cohen, VP of Government and Industry Relations for Honda North Ame

The NHTSA revealed the final rules on the mandatory installation of electronic stability control (ESC) to help prevent rollovers on all vehicles by the 2012 model year (September 2011). The legislation applies to all vehicles under 10,000 pounds, and was ushered in without dissent by automakers. Carmakers that produce less than 5,000 cars per year will be given more time to phase in the technology.

We have already reported that this year's Congress will pursue energy issues individually, and one of the most important issues up for debate is biofuels. Reps. Earl Pomeroy and Kenny Hulshof have introduced the Renewable Fuels and Energy Independence Promotion Act of 2007 which proposes to permanently extend tax breaks for ethanol and biodiesel production. The act moves to permane

Four US Senators took to the microphone yesterday to accuse Detroit of "stonewalling" and "getting into a bunker mentality" when it comes to providing vehicles with better fuel economy. Dianne Feinstein, Dick Durbin, Olympia Snowe, and Lincoln Chafee are sponsoring a bill they call "Ten in Ten" that would call for increasing the fleetwide Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) to 37 MPG by 2017 - trucks and all. Also included is a requirement for on-bo

According to the Nutraingredients.com, there is currently a heated debate between the food industry and biodiesel advocates in Europe over the use rapeseed oil. The European Union seeks to increase the percentage of biofuel used in transportation from the current 2.5-pct to 5.7-pct by the year 2010 and rapeseed oil is a major source for the alternative fuel.