Sun-loving off-roaders in the state of California can breathe a collective sigh of relief today as the California Air Resources Board has announced that soft-top versions of the Jeep Wrangler will be exempted from its proposed “Cool Car” regulations.
Aimed at reducing emissions tied to air conditioning use, CARB introduced a so-called “Cool Car” measure earlier this month that would require vehicles to use an advanced glass glazing system that would block the sun’s energy by up to 60 percent. However, since the Jeep Wrangler soft-top uses flexible side windows not suited to the glazing treatment, the cool car regulations would have forced Chrysler to pull the Wrangler soft-top from the California market.
After fielding complaints from Chrysler – and likely thousands of disgruntled Jeep Wrangler owners – CARB has decided to exclude vehicles with flexible side windows from the cool car rules. “The Cool Cars regulation only applies to rigid windows and will not affect the flexible glazing on vehicles such as the Jeep Wrangler,” CARB said in a statement on Friday.
“If the plastic windows are rigid, they must comply with the same standards as glass windows, beginning with the 2012 model year.”
Per the tentative terms of the cool car regulations – the final version of the law isn’t expected until later this month – vehicles sold in California will be required to block 45 percent of the sun’s energy by 2014 with a ramp-up to 60 percent by 2016. The 2016 requirements will tack on $250 to the price of a vehicle, but CARB says owners will be able to recoup that cost in fuel savings within 5 to 12 years.
