Myth: Auto Industry Will Take Pick-up Trucks Off of the Market.
Issue
To fight global warming, California has adopted regulations limiting the greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. The automobile industry has sued in various forums. When those lawsuits have not succeeded, the industry has tried to get Congress and the Bush Administration to block California’s global warming efforts.
Myth
The auto industry claims it will have to shift to lighter vehicles and stop selling most, if not all, of their new pick-up trucks in order to comply with the regulations. The manufacturers make this claim because many of the trucks they make are heavier, consume more gasoline and emit more greenhouse gases than their cars over the same distance traveled. Thus, it is more difficult and costly for the automakers to achieve the same emission standards for trucks as for cars.
Truth
In adopting the regulations, the California Air Resources Board took the differences between heavier trucks and lighter vehicles into account. The Board created two separate categories of vehicles and imposed different standards on each category. The heavier pick-up trucks, that is, those with a loaded vehicle weight of more than 3750 pounds, are included with large Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and other medium-duty passenger vehicles in a category that has less stringent emission standards. For example, in 2009, the emissions cap for this heavier category of vehicles is 439 grams per mile of CO2-equivalent gases, compared with 323 grams per mile for the category composed of all passenger cars and those pick-up trucks that weigh 3750 pounds or less. The standards for each category increase in succeeding years, but always remain relatively less stringent for the heavier vehicles. Pick-up trucks that have a gross vehicle weight of more than 8500 pounds are not subject to the regulations at all. In addition, if the emissions for the heavier category of vehicles exceeds the standard, a company can avoid paying a penalty by using emission credits earned in another year or category, or the company can buy or trade credits with another company.
The bottom line: The more lenient emission standards for heavier vehicles allows automakers to continue marketing their full line of pick-up trucks.