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Former EPA official Margo Oge says the auto industry needs "an adult" to help sort out differences over the federal greenhouse gas program and boldly reaffirm automakers' commitment to stricter emissions standards.
She's got someone in mind.
"We need a real leader in the industry to stand up," said Oge, who helped broker the 2011 deal between the Obama administration and the auto industry that envisioned doubling fleetwide average fuel economy to 54.5 mpg by the 2025 model year. "And given the politics right now, it has to be a Detroit company. The one I see shaping this dialogue is Bill Ford."
Oge (OH'-gay) told Automotive News she wants to see the executive chairman of Ford Motor Co., a longtime environmental advocate, "stand up and help California and the federal government negotiate any flexibilities for 2025 and set the road map for 2030."
"I believe if he does that, we will see the investor community respond with a stock price increase in Ford," Oge said, "because investors are looking for companies that are not behaving like the traditional OEMs with competition from Silicon Valley, Tesla and China."
'Walk the talk'
Automakers this year successfully pushed the Trump administration to reopen the midterm review of 2022-25 model year greenhouse gas standards, arguing that Obama administration officials rushed to lock them in without considering whether initial assumptions about compliance costs and fuel prices -- and their effect on consumer demand for cleaner vehicles -- panned out.
As part of its review, the EPA held a public hearing here Sept....