What the rule does
The US Transportation Department released a final rule on Monday that resets the corporate average fuel economy standards run by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Officials said the new targets will cut the upfront cost of a new vehicle by an average of $1,300 and give automakers more choice over the kinds of cars and trucks they build. President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he had approved the standards, writing that they would take the waste out of building cars in America.
How far the targets fall
Reporting on the rule puts the reduction at roughly a third compared with the Biden-era requirements. The previous administration had raised fuel-efficiency targets as a way to push automakers to sell more electric vehicles. Congress, under Trump, had already removed penalties for missing the targets, and the Environmental Protection Agency had reversed the policy that justified regulating greenhouse gases from vehicles.
Pushback and the road ahead
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the administration had ended what he called an illegal mandate that forced automakers to build more expensive electric vehicles. Environmental groups rejected that framing. The Sierra Club argued the change will make transportation more expensive and hand the clean technology market to China. Analysts say the near-term practical effect may be limited and that the rule is likely to be fought in court rather than change dealer lots straight away.
The announcement lands less than six weeks before midterm elections in which fuel prices and the cost of living are central issues for voters. Automakers now have to decide how quickly to shift product plans toward larger, less efficient vehicles, a choice that affects factories, suppliers and jobs across the manufacturing base.
---
Sintered Bronze and Iron Bearings for High-Volume Machinery
Powder metallurgy turns metal powder straight into a finished bearing in one press-and-sinter cycle — near-net shape, almost no machining scrap, and tolerances that hold steady across million-part runs. Sintered bearings from Soperb are produced in iron, iron-copper, tin bronze and stainless steel (SS-304L), with controlled porosity that stores lubricating oil inside the metal for life: self-lubricating bushings that run quiet in motors, pumps, fans, power tools, gearboxes and automotive assemblies, with no oil line to maintain. Grades are catalogued against DIN, MPIF, JIS, AMES and BSI BS 5600 standards, including graphite- and copper-graded variants for high-load and high-temperature duty. Visit www.pmsnt.com to select a grade by standard, by load or by shaft size.