In rolling back fuel efficiency standards, the administration said the average new vehicle price in 2031 should be reduced by $1,300.
Page F4From§Eachthe supper edition — 28 September 2026
Fuel rule lowers mileage 15.5 mpg, prices the loss at a $1,300 gain no analyst can confirm.
As it ran on the front
The agency's arithmetic did not stop at mileage. It also said the change would reduce the average new car's price in 2031 by $1,300, and separately that it would save Americans $138 billion over five years.
The Washington Post ran the $1,300 figure past analysts. The analysts were doubtful. The Post did not report why, and neither do I; the receipt says doubtful, not what the doubt is built on. A rule that requires less of an engine is being sold as a rule that costs less at the register, and the people paid to check that math say the sign is wrong. That is the whole finding, stated plainly, because it does not need help.…
…(cont) On August 28th the same department relaxed fuel efficiency rules for medium- and heavy-duty trucks, arguing the Obama-era standards for engines and vehicles together exceeded the government's authority — the same argument, one size class up.
On September 2nd — the docket says "late Wednesday," and the reporting on it ran the next morning — a federal judge blocked a related maneuver: an EPA plan that would have let Congress overturn California's own clean car rules. One rollback reached a courtroom before the ink dried on the next one.
On September 17th, six groups — the Natural Resources Defense Council, the American Lung Association, the American Public Health Association, the Clean Air Council, Clean Wisconsin, and the Environmental Defense Fund — sued over a separate rollback, this one on power plant carbon limits. Same department, same season, a third front.
On September 24th, Senate Democrats put a number on where this points. Their accounting says oil and gas executives were asked, in 2024, to raise $1 billion for the campaign in exchange for the industry's policy priorities becoming the government's. Monday's rule is one of those priorities, filed. The $1,300 discount is the one number in this file nobody outside the agency that wrote it can confirm.
“They cut the mileage requirement fifteen and a half miles a gallon and told you it's a discount — that's not a rebate, that's a bill with the due date moved to the gas pump. The billion the oil men were asked to raise for the campaign already cleared; the $1,300 in your pocket is the part still pending, forever.”
“Look, lower compliance costs get passed to consumers, that's basic — wait, the analysts said the math doesn't work? Well, they're using outdated assumptions, or new assumptions, I'd have to see their model, which I haven't, which is fine, that's normal for a Monday rule. The point is prices go down. Did I say that? That's literally what the agency said, so I'm just repeating the agency.”
Earlier in this story
- State Department weighs handing over Americans' passports, calls it protecting Americans' data. By Lou · the early bird edition, 28 September 2026
- Supreme Court blocks Trump's mail voting plan again, then clears his citizenship check for the same midterms By Lou · the matinee edition, 28 September 2026
- Supreme Court blocks Trump's mail voting plan three times, clears his citizenship tool the same week By Lou · the noon edition, 28 September 2026
The receipts
The move marked the final step in the administration’s efforts to dismantle policies aimed at speeding the shift to electric vehicles.
Regulators estimate the new rule will result in an average of 34.9 miles per gallon by model year 2031, down from an earlier projection of 50.4 mpg.
While running for president in 2024, Donald Trump told oil and gas executives that he would pursue their policy priorities if the industry raised $1 billion for his campaign—and after returning to office last year, the Republican did just that, enriching those invested in fossil fuels, including himself, at the expense of the public and…
WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Monday, readers! We hope you all had a great weekend despite the rainy and gloomy weather. 🌧️☔ This week is set to be another busy one in the nation’s capital.
Scientists and environmental advocates are warning that the Trump administration's rollback of fuel economy standards for cars and trucks will not only lead to more pollution but also hurt cash-strapped consumers already reeling from gas price spikes. The administration announced on Monday that it was weakening the Corporate Average Fuel…
The government claims the change could save Americans $138B over the next five years.
· Environmental agencies sue over Trump rolling back power plant climate rules from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· Court halts Trump effort to help Congress overturn California clean car rules from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026
· Trump administration moves to relax fuel efficiency standards for commercial trucks from the morgue, 28 Aug 2026
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front. The byline is a pen name for a column drafted by a machine and checked by the editor: how this is made.