The Nation - News from May 18, 1988

In an unusual 5-5 split, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington affirmed a 1986 order by a three-judge panel of the court that directed the Environmental Protection Agency to recalculate fuel-economy ratings of 1980-1984 model cars. The judges split along liberal and conservative lines over whether the Center for Auto Safety, a consumer activist group, had legal standing to challenge the way the EPA recalculated the Corporate Average Fuel Economy ratings for Ford and General Motors cars made during those years. At issue is the EPA’s decision in 1985 to raise the fuel economy ratings for cars made between 1980 and 1984 to reflect seven changes in test procedures. Ford and GM contended the original methodology had unfairly lowered the ratings. The higher ratings recalculated by EPA lowered penalties that Ford and GM were assessed for falling short of fuel-economy standards.