Maybe if Washington would grow a brain and a backbone, states wouldn't have to pass their own laws. Seeing that fuel efficiency hasn't changed much in the past few decades (or since the Model-T, for that matter), it's about time we catch up with the rest of the civilized world and demand more from the car industry. Initial cost may be higher, but the amount saved in gasoline, air pollution, health care, and avoiding stupid wars would well be worth the cost.

There is more to clean air than fuel efficiency. It is a myth that cleaner air requires huge concessions by auto makers. Lower emissions can happen via other methods. Partial Zero Emissions Vehicles (available in California) only cost a few hundred more to made. I bought a used PZEV subaru, originally sold in California, for the same sticker price as a non PZEV. It has no difference in gas mileage, but produces nearly no pollution. Why shouldn't local governments be able to require standards that directly affect their communities? Pollution created in Utah's valley's gets trapped by our local inversions. If we want to fix our bad air, we must do it ourselves. More people die in Utah each year from bad air than homicides and auto fatalities combined.