Obama Issues Orders Toward More Fuel-Efficient Cars - washingtonpost.com

Flanked by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Obama directed the EPA to reconsider granting California and other states waivers to set their own strict regulations over tailpipe emissions. California would require a 30 percent cut in those emissions, a mandate more stringent than the federal mileage standards. The new review process could take several months.

Obama also instructed the Transportation Department to draw up new interim targets for mileage standards starting in 2012 that ensure new vehicles reach the 35 mile-a-gallon level set by Congress for 2020. He left intact Bush administration guidelines for 2011 models already being designed.

Obama Issues Orders Toward More Fuel-Efficient Cars - washingtonpost.com