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Despite Trump Claim, X-Prize Winner Says Auto Standard Rollbacks Are Bad for Business

The Trump administration has announced plans to roll back fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards for American cars, claiming this is what automakers want and need, but a Virginia man who proved his expertise in creating a fuel efficient car says these changes will end up hurting the industry in the long run.

Oliver Kuttner won $5 million in 2010 – the X-Prize for building a car that could do more than a hundred miles per gallon. He knows top auto industry executives, and he claims they did not want changes in fuel and pollution rules.

“Most visionary people in car companies thought these standards made sense and agreed to them. They were seen more as a challenge, and as an opportunity.”

A chance to sell a lot more cars.

“The Obama era thought makes sense, because as a car company you want to create cars for a world market, not American market.”  

That’s because industry growth is coming from third world countries.

“And what Americans don’t know is that our performance in the developing world is dismal.  These markets are growing at 7% per year every year. They are the place where the growth is.”

And the place where consumers care about good mileage. Kuttner also fears that lesser standards will allow more competition in this country.

“These standards are actually their key to be at the top of the food chain, because it is those standards that still keep a lot of the developing car companies out of our territory.”

We get lazy at our peril, he warns, noting the Japanese made great little motorcycles that eventually put most U.S. manufacturers out of business. 

Sandy Hausman is Radio IQ's Charlottesville Bureau Chief