The Trump administration on Monday finalized its corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) rollback, branding the package under Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s “Freedom Means Affordable Cars” framing. Washington Examiner and The Guardian treated the announcement as the operational Monday rollout after weekend previews: Examiner cited a fleetwide average near 34.9 miles per gallon in model year 2031, compared with a Biden-era path near 50.4 mpg, and said the rewrite scraps 2028 credit-trading design points automakers had been planning around.

CAFE has shaped U.S. vehicle design since the 1970s energy crisis. Monday’s finalization continues a second-term stack that also loosened tailpipe rules, repealed fines for missing mileage targets, and ended the up-to-$7,500 consumer EV tax credit. No federal law required only EVs on dealer lots; Trump has attacked prior sales targets as a de facto mandate. Edmunds data cited in earlier AP packages put EVs around 6.5% of new sales in February, down from 7.4% for all of 2025. Kelley Blue Book had the average new-car transaction near $50,089 in August — the affordability argument the White House is leaning on — while AAA’s Sunday national average sat near $4.47 a gallon as Hormuz war risk kept pump prices elevated.

Environmental groups immediately attacked the final rule. The Center for Biological Diversity and Sierra Club argued weaker MPG curves mean more gasoline burned and dirtier local air, especially with pump prices already high. Automakers including GM, Ford, and Stellantis had sought rules that keep a full mix of gasoline models financially workable. Tuesday readers should watch for the Federal Register PDF if it lags the press-room announcement, early lawsuits, and how EPA/NHTSA tables translate into model-year product plans. The overnight card treats Monday finalization as resolved on the announcement; litigation and FR text remain follow-through.