Concern over electronic signals leads Calif. to reverse mandate for reflective vehicle windows

Calif. nixes rule mandating reflective car windows

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California air regulators have reversed a mandate that would have required sun-reflecting glass to be installed on all new vehicles sold in the state, giving auto manufacturers a temporary reprieve.

The California Air Resources Board made the change Thursday after critics complained the new windshields might block cell phone signals in remote areas. Law enforcement officials also expressed concern that the windows would interfere with the electronic signals from ankle bracelets worn by paroled felons.

The idea behind the rule, which was adopted last year, was to reduce the amount of air conditioning needed in vehicles, and therefore cut the amount of fuel they consume.

It was among dozens of strategies the board pursued in its effort to reduce California’s greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, the goal set by the state’s 2006 global warming law.

The window regulations had been expected to go into effect in 2012.

Board spokesman Stanley Young said regulators will develop another mandate that lets auto manufacturers chose how to reduce a car’s internal temperature.

For example, cars could be equipped with better ventilation systems, heat-reflecting paint or other window technology, he said.

“We’re hoping this will draw on the ingenuity of car engineers to keep the car cooler while it’s standing in the sun,” Young said.

A spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Group LLC, General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment Friday.

The window mandate, known as the “cool cars” initiative, would have cooled a sedan’s interior by an estimated 14 degrees Fahrenheit, or 12 degrees for a pickup or SUV.

It was projected to prevent 700,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere in 2020, the equivalent of taking 140,000 vehicles off the road for a year.

The auto industry also succeeded last year in getting the board to back off a proposal that would have required so-called “cool paints” on new vehicles. The companies complained it would have blocked them from selling black cars in California.

Any new rule would have to be approved by the 11-member Air Resources Board.