EPA moves to phase out 'universally-hated' auto start-stop feature on cars

EPA chief Lee Zeldin on phasing out the auto stop-start feature on cars.

The EPA is taking measures to begin phasing out the tax credit that has incentivized car makers to include the auto start-stop engine feature on new vehicles, an announcement that has been met with applause from car companies and consumers.

According to CBS News, about two-thirds of cars on the road today are equipped with auto start-stop engines. Drivers know it all too well -- when at a red light or otherwise idling, the car engine automatically turns off, and then turns back on when the driver presses on the gas pedal. "Countless Americans passionately despise the start/stop feature in cars," EP chief Lee Zeldin said in a post on X. 

The Trump administration has said that while the feature may increase a vehicle's fuel economy, it's more significantly increasing the price of cars across the board. The average cost of a new vehicle in the U.S. is nearly $50,000, up 43% over the last decade.

The auto start-stop feature has actually been around since the 1970s, but automakers didn't start equipping vehicles with the feature en masse until fuel economy and emissions regulations were enacted by the Obama administration, according to Newsweek.  Zeldin has previously called those Obama-era regulations and incentives "climate participation trophies."

The move to phase out the start-stop feature is part of a wider rollback of Obama-era climate regulations that was announced by Zeldin and President Trump this week. Trump touted the move as "the single largest act of deregulation in the history of the United States of America."

Below, watch a clip of Zeldin explaining the thinking behind the decision.