SACRAMENTO, California: Some of the nation s largest truckmakers on Thursday pledged to stop selling new gas-powered vehicles in California by the middle of the next decade, part of an agreement with state regulators aimed at preventing lawsuits that threatened to delay or block the state s emission standards.
let s bring in a automotive editor for foxnews.com, and joseph white, wall street journal global automotive reporter, i m sorry, editor. thanks both you for being here. gary, my understanding there have never been fuel standards for these vehicles at all, is that correct? recently there have been minor ones introduced last couple years. this will be a big jump. they re looking for 50% increase in fuel economy. the federal government spent $270 million on a program called the super truck program. they re working with truckmakers to come up with technology to be able to achieve that. jon: will they be able to succeed, joseph? they might be able to succeed. there is a lot of room for improvement. some of what they re looking at it? that exotic. things like automatic shut down system so the engine, would otherwise be at idle will shut down. low rolling resistance tires. getting to the last 1% of caffeine-free. as you get up towards a 50% increase you will have to look