Mercedes Benz

The 2019 Chevrolet Silverado's engine, below, uses Tula Technology's Dynamic Skip Fire feature to boost fuel economy. WASHINGTON — Tula Technology Inc. is a late-stage powertrain startup that is finally producing revenue, hitting the market with innovate software designed to optimize the power output and fuel efficiency of internal combustion engines. The company's algorithm selects the best combination of cylinders to fire to match torque demand at a given moment, delivering a 15 to 20 percent efficiency boost compared with conventional engines. The Dynamic Skip Fire technology just launched into full production with General Motors which will include it in 2019 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups and roll it into full-size SUVs next year. Tula, a 60-person outfit in Silicon Valley, is on the verge of landing contracts with other automakers and hiring. But growth could be jeopardized if the Trump administration gets its way in weakening Obama-era fuel economy standa...

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration reopened the feasibility review for 2022-25 fuel economy standards in 2017 because it said the process conducted under President Barack Obama was rushed and politically motivated. Now, critics of the new NHTSA-led proposal to freeze the standards at 2020 levels argue that it's the Trump administration that's playing politics as it tries to roll back its predecessors' policies. They say the preliminary rulemaking issued this month was completed at warp speed with thin scientific evidence — claims that could undergird a coming wave of legal challenges to the proposal from states and environmental groups. Their ammunition comes from an internal government document made public last week in which senior EPA staffers told the White House that many of NHTSA's predictions and justifications for the rollback were faulty, particularly its claims that the Obama-era rules would make new cars too expensive and lead to more highway deaths. NHTSA...