MotorVehicleRegs.COM

California GHG Waiver

On January 24, 2008, Senator Boxer introduced S.2555, the Reducing Global Warming Pollutants from Vehicles Act of 2008, a bill that would amend Section 209 of the Clean Air Act by adding a provision stating that California’s December 21, 2005 request to establish motor vehicle GHG emissions standards shall be considered approved. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

New Car Seat Rating System

On January 30, 2008, US DOT Secretary Peters announced a new government rating system for car child seats and released new star ratings for 78 child safety seats currently on the market. Under the new five star ratings, expanded criteria are being used to evaluate child safety seats. The seats are awarded an overall star rating, as well as individual star ratings in four categories: securing the child, vehicle installation features, labeling and instructions. Five stars represent the highest rating and one star signifies the lowest rating.

The DOT says that the new rating system does not measure how effective a child seat is in protecting a child in the event of a crash, but rather compares how easy one seat is to use over another.

A complete list of the new rankings is available at: www.nhtsa.dot.gov

CARB Motor Vehicle GHG Standards

On January 23, 2008, CARB issued an addendum to a report it issued on January 2, 2008. It provides additional quantification of the greenhouse gas emission reduction benefits, expressed as CO2, assuming all fifty states adopt California emissions standards. This addendum uses the same methodology as the previous report, but corrects a computational error in the original analysis.

Child Restraints (FMVSS 213)

On January 23, 2008, NHTSA published a notice in the Federal Register at 73 FR 3901 supplementing an NPRM issued August 31, 2005 that proposed to: 1) expand the applicability of FMVSS 213, Child restraint systems, to restraints recommended for children up to 80 lbs, and 2) require booster seats and other restraints to meet performance criteria when tested with a crash test dummy representative of a 10 year old child. In Part 1 of this SNPRM, NHTSA is proposing a test procedure for positioning the 10-year-old child dummy in a child restraint, to reduce variation due to chin-to-lower neck contact that was exhibited by the dummy in sled tests conducted subsequent to the NPRM. In Part 2 of the SNPRM, NHTSA proposes to add a seating procedure for positioning the Hybrid III 6-year-old dummy in a child restraint for FMVSS 213 compliance testing.

The deadline for submitting comments is March 24, 2008. NHTSA docket reference: NHTSA-2007-0048. NHTSA contact: Roger Saul, Office of Rulemaking (202) 366-1740.

Draft Proposed Regulation to Reduce Emissions of Diesel PM and NOx from In-Use Heavy-Duty Diesel-Fueled Vehicles

On January 22, 2008, CARB released a draft proposed regulation aimed at controlling in-use emissions of PM and NOx emitted by heavy-duty diesel-fueled or alternative diesel-fueled vehicles having a GVWR > 14,000 lbs. The regulation would essentially require that HD diesel vehicle fleet owners purchase 2010 model year vehicles or retrofit their older vehicle engines to meet specified NOx and PM limits. CARB is proposing to implement the requirements in two stages starting with the 2010 model year. Vehicle labeling requirements will be specified at a later date.

To take comments on the draft proposed regulation, CARB is holding public workshops across the state through mid-February. The agency intends to issue a formal regulatory proposal by the middle of 2008. The website for the rulemaking is http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/onrdiesel/onrdiesel.htm. The CARB staff contact is Gloria Lindner, (916) 323-2803, glindner@arb.ca.gov.

Roofcrush (FMVSS 216)

On January 25, 2008, NHTSA released an advance version of the roofcrush SNPRM. Comments on the SNPRM will be due 45 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register (i.e., around mid-March).

Since the publication of the NPRM in August of 2005, the notice states that NHTSA has conducted 35 additional single-side tests. The data indicates that the strength-to-weight ratio (SWR) of many late model vehicles with a GVWR of 6,000 lbs (2,722 kg) or less was substantially higher than the 2.5 value proposed in the NPRM. Conversely, the data also shows that only two vehicles NHTSA tested with a GVWR greater than 6,000 lbs would have been able to exceed the 2.5 SWR value.

The notice further indicates that NHTSA has also conducted a total of 26 two-sided tests. In its two-side testing, the force is applied to one side of the roof and then the vehicle is repositioned and the force is then applied on the opposite side of the roof. The two-sided results (see later), show that the first side test generally produces a weakening of the structure (as evidenced by lower SWRs for the second side relative to the first side). The data show that the peak strength for the second side was reduced by about 8 percent in vehicles under 6,000 lbs GVWR and 17 percent in vehicles over 6,000 lbs. The data also indicates, however, that for some vehicles, the roof strength is actually increased after conducting the first side test.

Based on the results of the testing conducted, NHTSA is contemplating a number of different alternative approaches for the final rule. The alternatives being considered are a single-side test at a specified SWR (most likely at an SWR of 3.0) or a two-sided test at an SWR of 2.5. Less stringent requirements for vehicles > 6,000 lbsg GVWR also appear possible. Several questions are posed in the notice about these alternatives and input is requested.

NHTSA provided no new information about when the new requirements will go into effect once finalized.

Docket reference: NHTSA-2008-0015.

CANADA’S FIRST MOTOR VEHICLE FUEL CONSUMPTION REGULATIONS: CONSULTATIONS BEGIN

On Jan. 17, 2008, the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, announced he is delivering on the Government of Canada's commitment to implement fuel consumption regulations. He said that for the first time Canada will regulate the fuel consumption of new cars and light trucks, beginning with the 2011 model year. Consultations will begin with automotive, environmental and other stakeholders as part of the government's commitment to implement national fuel consumption regulations for motor vehicles. Excerpts from the Minister's press statement are below.

In 2006, the combined (car and light truck) new vehicle fleet average fuel consumption was approximately 8.6 L/100 km in Canada. This is equivalent to 27 miles per gallon. The regulations will prescribe a standard that will be designed to maximize the environmental and economic benefits for Canada. The federal government will monitor closely the work of the U.S. government, towards establishing an environmentally ambitious North American regulatory standard for cars and light-duty trucks.

"The United States Congress has set an ambitious target of 35 miles per gallon — or 6.7 litres/100 kilometres — for the average fuel economy of vehicles sold in 2020," explained Minister Cannon. "We welcome the U.S. goal, but are committed to developing made-in-Canada standards that achieve — at minimum — that same target in Canada. The consultations ahead will be key to delivering the standard. Put simply, this means that the government will regulate by the 2011 model year. By 2020, the average new vehicle sold in Canada will have a fuel consumption better than some of today's hybrid cars, and produce fewer GHG emissions, than approximately 93 per cent of all vehicle entries listed in the 2008 Fuel Consumption Guide.”

Consultations on the development of the fuel consumption regulations will include the automotive industry, environmental non-governmental organizations, provinces and territories, and other stakeholders. A short issue brief has been developed to inform these consultations. All interested parties are encouraged to review the brief and submit their views in writing to Transport Canada no later than March 15, 2008.

Following consultations, the Government of Canada will publish draft regulations in the Canada Gazette, Part I. This will be followed by a 90-day comment and review period to provide a formal opportunity for Canadians to respond. The Government of Canada will then review the comments in order to develop final regulations. It is anticipated that these final regulations will be published in the Canada Gazette, Part II, by the end of 2008. The regulations will come into force for the 2011 model year.

The issue brief "A Better Canada — A Cleaner Environment: Development of Motor Vehicle Fuel Consumption Regulations" is available at http://www.tc.gc.ca/pol/en/environment/FuelConsumption/index.html.

EPA Fuel Trends Report: Gasoline 1995-2005

On January 2, 2008, EPA released its Fuel Trends Report which presents 1995-2005 clean fuel programs implementation data collected and analyzed by EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality. The data show that significant changes in gasoline composition during this period resulted in emission reductions often substantially greater than regulatory requirements.

Key findings discussed in the report include the following:

• Gasoline Sulfur Decreases -- Average annual sulfur content in all gasoline dropped from about 300 ppm in 1997 to about 90 ppm in 2005.

• RFG NOx Reductions Exceed Requirements -- RFG exceeded applicable NOx performance standards during both Phase I (1998-1999) and Phase II (2000 and beyond).

• RFG Toxics Reductions Exceed Requirements -- On average, Phase I RFG complied with Phase II standards, and toxic performance still improved with the transition to Phase II standards.

• Conventional Gasoline NOx and Toxics Emissions Decreased -- Between 1998 and 2005, the summer NOx emissions of conventional gasoline were reduced by 5.7 percent, while summer exhaust toxics were reduced by 4.7 percent.

• Ethanol Use in RFG Increased and MTBE Use Decreased -- In the summer of 1996, about 11 percent of the RFG sold contained ethanol while virtually all the remainder contained MTBE. By the summer of 2005, the ethanol share increased to about 53 percent, with corresponding decreases in MTBE.

Event Data Recorders

On January 14, 2008, NHTSA published a final rule in the Federal Register at 73 FR 2168 which responds to several petitions for reconsideration of the August 2006 rule which established NHTSA’s first set of uniform requirements for the accuracy, collection, storage, survivability, and retrievability of onboard motor vehicle crash event data in passenger cars and other light vehicles voluntarily equipped with event data recorders (EDRs).

Summary of Changes

Compliance Date - In order to avoid vehicle manufacturers incurring significant additional costs, unintended by the final rule, to redevelop EDR system architectures outside the normal product cycle, NHTSA has amended Sec. 563.3 to include a later compliance date. Specifically, the compliance date will generally be September 1, 2012, but September 1, 2013 for vehicles that are manufactured in two or more stages or that are altered after having been previously certified to the FMVSS.

Data filtering - To avoid EDR data being filtered beyond usefulness, NHTSA has removed the SAE J211-1 filter class specification from Table III of Sec. 563.8 and from incorporation by reference in Sec. 563.4.

Definitions - To clarify the final rule more fully, NHTSA has added definitions in Sec. 563.5 for “maximum delta-V, resultant” and “time, maximum delta-V, resultant,” and amending the definitions for “end of event time,” “engine RPM,” “event,” and “time zero.”

Frontal air bag warning lamp and ignition cycle reporting - To clarify the definition and permissible uses of the frontal air bag warning lamp, and to clarify that the ignition cycle at time of download need only be reported during the download process, footnotes are being added to Table I in Sec. 563.7.

Data format - To avoid requiring EDRs to function at levels well beyond those necessary for the purposes of the final rule, Sec. 563.8 and Table III are being amended to clarify that the format specified is for reported, not recorded, data elements.

Overwriting vs. erasing data – NHTSA is amending Sec. 563.9 to allow the EDR to “overwrite” rather than erase previous event data contained in the EDR memory buffers and also clarifying how the EDR should prioritize multiple events and events involving deployable restraint systems other than air bags.

Deadline for filing petitions for reconsideration: February 28, 2008.

Docket reference: NHTSA-2008-0004

NHTSA Contact persons for this rulemaking: Technical and policy issues: David Sutula, Office of Crashworthiness Standards, (202) 366-1740. Legal issues: Rebecca Schade, Office of the Chief Counsel, (202) 366-2992.

Arizona Department of Environmental Quality Issues Draft Clean-Car Rules to Cut GHG Emissions from Vehicles

On January 10, 2008, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) issued its draft rules to cut GHG from vehicles and filed its notice of proposed rule making with the Secretary of State’s Office.

The new rules are being developed pursuant to an Executive Order on climate change issued last year by Gov. Janet Napolitano.

The proposed rules include tailpipe emission standards for new vehicles, requirements for the sale of some zero-emissions vehicles in the state and reduction of GHG emissions overall from new vehicles sold in Arizona.

The rules would apply to vehicles beginning with the 2011 model year. Arizona’s rules will be based on the Clean Car program adopted by the State of California. States are authorized under the federal Clean Air Act to adopt California’s vehicle emissions standards. Note, however, that EPA has denied California’s waiver and the waiver decision will need to be reversed if California and other states are going to be allowed to enforce the GHG emissions regulation. Arizona has joined 15 other states in a lawsuit brought by California against the EPA to reverse EPA’s decision to deny the waiver.

In addition to California, 12 other states have adopted the California GHG vehicle standards. They are Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Along with Arizona, at least four other states – Colorado, Florida, Montana and Utah – also have announced plans to adopt the California GHG vehicle standards.