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| Science & Technology |
| Start-stop stiffed: EPA kills annoying automatic engine shutoff |
| 2026-02-16 |
| [BLAZE] A not-so-fond farewell to the green gimmick that wrecks your engine — and your sanity. First thing I do when starting my truck is shut that off The EPA just delivered news that millions of fed-up American drivers have been waiting for: Automatic start-stop technology is no longer being propped up by federal regulation. On February 12, 2026, President Donald Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced what the administration is calling the largest deregulatory action in U.S. history. The move scraps the Obama-era 2009 greenhouse gas endangerment finding and wipes out federal greenhouse-gas standards for vehicles dating back to model year 2012. For everyday drivers, the practical consequence is simple and satisfying: The regulatory credits that encouraged automakers to jam start-stop systems into vehicles are gone. ’UNIVERSALLY HATED’ Zeldin didn’t mince words, calling start-stop an "almost universally hated" feature — an "Obama switch" that makes your engine shut off at every red light. Trump echoed the sentiment, blasting the policy as a regulatory disaster that drove up prices and forced unwanted technology on consumers. Even the EPA’s own announcement acknowledged what drivers have been saying for years: A feature that kills your engine at stops and jolts it awake again was never embraced voluntarily — it was incentivized. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #2 |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2026-02-16 08:50 |
| #1 |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2026-02-16 06:16 |