Wrangler exempted from new ‘cool car’ regulations

Posted on Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 2:19 PM EDT.

The California Air Resources Board said Friday that when it issues its final “cool car” regulations, which will require vehicles to reduce the amount of heat entering vehicles starting in the 2012 model year, it will exempt soft-sided plastic windows, the paper said. “The Cool Cars regulation only applies to rigid windows and will not affect the flexible glazing on vehicles such as the Jeep Wrangler,” the board said. “If the plastic windows are rigid, they must comply with the same standards as glass windows, beginning with the 2012 model year.”

The board has not yet published its final proposed regulation, which is due by month’s end, the News said. Chrysler officials had raised the possibility at a June 25 hearing that they wouldn’t be able to sell the vehicle in California, and there was no indication at that time that the board would exempt flexible plastic windows, the story said.

Chrysler Group LLC sought an exemption for vehicles’ plastic windows, warning it could affect its GEM Electric vehicle and Jeep Wrangler, the paper said. The irony is the GEM electric vehicles don’t even offer air conditioning, Chrysler told the board, the story said. (The Detroit News)

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