CARB mandates and New Year's resolutions: made to be broken

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"California breaks rank again, demands over 15% of cars sold be non-polluting by 2025

Less than a year after everyone with any sort of say in the matter seemed to agree that 54.5 miles per gallon by the year 2025 was a properly attainable goal, the California Air Resources Board has decided to change things up a bit.

In addition to CAFE requirements of a 54.5-mpg fleet average (using the government's formula, not what you see on window stickers), at least 15.4 percent of all cars sold by any major automaker doing business in California will have to be either fully electric, a plug-in hybrid or be powered by a hydrogen fuel cell by 2025. There are questions about the "over-compliance" section of the bill, which we'll be investigating further.

According to Mary Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board, 15.4 percent is "actually a relatively modest goal, but that's all that we're mandating." Most automakers are on board, says Nichols. 'Probably the most heartening aspect of this whole rulemaking was the level of cooperation that we received from the industry... Overall, the degree of support for the package was just extraordinary.'"

http://green.autoblog.com/2012/01/27/california-breaks-rank-again-demands-over-15-of-cars-sold-be-n/

Of course the level of industry support is "heartening" - in 2012 (fast-forward to 2024, when automakers deploy a full-scale PR offensive to show how this law will decimate the industry...)