German luxury car makers could get partial exemption from CO2 rules
2008 Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG – Click above for high-res gallery
It looks like some carmakers could be awarded a partial "get out of jail free" card for the new national greenhouse gas rules announced by the Obama administration in May. The EPA and NHTSA won't issue final rules until later in the fall, but it looks like carmakers that sell less than 400,000 cars a year could catch a break this time around. Apparently, up to one-quarter of the company's fleets would get a four-year exemption. That would allow companies like BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz to sell high-powered M, RS and AMG models without it affecting their fleet CO2 emissions numbers.
The proposed rules would give the automakers less of a break than the California rules, which would have exempted their entire fleets for seven years. Nonetheless, these automakers would still have an advantage over a company like General Motors which competes with some of these cars with the likes of the Corvette ZR1 and Cadillac CTS-V.
Gallery: Review: 2008 Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG
Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: Wall Street Journal]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mark Kiernan 2:18PM (7/31/2009)
There is no reason why these makers can produce cars that are better. Stick in a hybrid in some and you have greatly increased the fuel economy, also use turbo diesels instead of v8 petrols. It is time to drag these dinosaurs kicking and screaming into the 21st century.
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unni 2:22PM (7/31/2009)
Welcome to America ....
Manufacturing in US - tax 35%
Importing to US - tax 5%
No CO2 restrictions if Import luxury.
No wonder the country is in recession.
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nrb 2:30PM (7/31/2009)
"carmakers that sell less than 400,000 cars a year "
That's in the US. Never mind that internationally, they're massive automobile companies.
They deserve a break?
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GoodCheer 5:22PM (7/31/2009)
I agree. Giving them a break just because America is only a minor market for them does not make sense.
Stew 5:28PM (7/31/2009)
Why even have rules? This is so ridicules, is there a rule that doesn't also have an exemption?
Stew
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luc 8:47PM (7/31/2009)
Does it matter since the German carmakers are facing much tougher future restrictions in Europe? I could see that because of the exempt German carmakers do not have to export their most fuel-efficient vehicles which is bad. On the other hand consumers may have final say in this. If consumers compare mpg then this will be resolved by itself.
I doubt that manufacters save exporting into the US. First the dollar is very, very weak and second they still have their high labor costs in addition to the 5%. One reason for instance that VW/Audi is considering opening a factory in US (but delayed to the economy).
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FrankBank 10:02PM (8/02/2009)
Oh what principle is the proposed exemption based:
That regs may be too difficult for some to achieve?
That German CO2 leads to global cooling?
That we want to reserve the most lucrative part of the automotive market to foreign companies?
That we want US companies to break up into smaller units? like the Cadillac company, the Buick company, so that they can escape regulation altogether, and so that Chevrolet will only have to balance its own portfolio and not have to offset the Cadillac and Buicks.
Total BS proposal that makes totally transparent the farce of the CAFE regs - its all about increasing government influence to facilitate more favors and more payoffs
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Stan Peterson 7:27PM (8/03/2009)
I think I detect an OX who is being GOREd. All those Ivy Tower liberals have just realized that the rules that they promulgate on the lumpen Proletariat, may remove them from access to their beloved and pretentious Beemers and MBs...
Can't have that, so lets exempt limos and their snooty preferences in vehicles.
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brett 2:42PM (8/08/2009)
these luxury cars are more often bought by conservative millionaires than working class liberals. You're extremely confused and obviously have no idea what you are talking about.