Automakers seek help on reducing new fuel economy standards

The Wall Street Journal reports that auto makers are asking newly empowered House Republicans to help fight a proposal under consideration by the Obama administration to boost fuel-economy standards for new cars and trucks to as high as 62 miles per gallon by 2025.

"The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the car industry's main trade group, wrote in a letter to U.S. Reps. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) and Fred Upton (R., Mich.) that fuel-economy standards are "by far the most expensive regulations auto makers face." The group warned that the 62 mpg proposal—backed by the state of California—would boost the price consumers pay for a car by as much as $6,400, resulting in a possible 25% drop in car sales and the loss of 220,000 automotive jobs."