Manny Lopez

Commentary: California board airheaded on autos

Trying to make sense of the regulations coming out of the California Air Resources Board is like trying to figure out why a 2-year-old is upset.

You can't and you shouldn't but you do it anyway and end up scratching your head and wondering what the fuss is all about.

Toddlers, however, are upset about such things as not getting a glass of milk. The California Air Resources Board actually sets policy that affects how Detroit businesses operate.

The latter happened again recently with news that the regulatory board wants advanced window glazing on new cars and trucks to keep them cooler and -- in theory -- help keep the planet from melting any further from dastardly auto exhaust.

The regulatory board has passed regulations that say that by 2014 vehicle windows must prevent 45 percent of the energy from the sun from entering the car or truck, with 60 percent blocked out by 2016. To do that, windows would have to be coated with microscopic specks of metal oxide to reflect sunlight. Unfortunately, say the makers of mobile phones, GPS devices and automakers, this will prohibit transmission of signals from those devices.

Poor solutions

The window glazing regulation is one of many "solutions" the air resource board has proposed as part of the California Global Warming Solutions Act passed in 2006 to bring greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

Another doozy they proposed, but later rescinded because it was so widely panned, was legislation to ban black cars from the state because they, too, reportedly require heftier use of the air conditioning to cool down.

The "Solutions Act" may have all the designs of saving the planet but what it's most likely to create in California and in any other state that blindly follows the nonsensical logic is an economy in 2020 that mirrors 1990 without the promised environmental benefits. Increased costs will follow as cars and trucks will get more expensive and older cars will remain on the roads longer because drivers will keep them rather than buy new ones.

"This is a common sense and cost-effective measure that will help cool the cars we drive and fight global warming," Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the resource board said in a statement.

The air resources board says the window glazing regulation will add $250 to the cost of each vehicle and that it will take from five to 12 years for consumers to recoup the costs from reduced gasoline use.

No end in sight

If those figures are accurate, and if such rules would actually put a dent in climate change, they might be justifiable. But those are big ifs.

Clearly, Detroit's automakers have far more to worry about these days than glass glazing, but they'd better pay attention because California officials have shown no restraint when it comes to over-regulating cars and trucks, and they're not likely to stop.

mlopez@detnews.com (313) 222-2536 Auto Editor Manny Lopez's column runs Thursday.