California exempts Jeep Wrangler from new 'cool car' regulations

David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau

Washington -- Soft-top convertible Jeep Wrangler fans, breathe easy: You will still be able to buy one in the Golden State.

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 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.

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.

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

"The very popular Jeep Wrangler fitted with a soft convertible top uses flexible roll-up side windows which are not capable of meeting the side window standard," Ross Good, Chrysler's senior manager of government relations told the board. "Outlawing the soft top would require us to use the hard-top vehicle with the hard windows, which would add significant weight to the vehicle."

The regulation takes effect in 2012, with a three-year phase-in, and requires all vehicles to prevent 45 percent of the energy from the sun from entering a vehicle by 2014, and 60 percent by 2016. The regulation applies to new vehicles weighing 10,000 pounds or less.

The board rejected suggestions from some companies that the new proposal hasn't been tested enough.

In a Sept. 22 letter, Garmin International Inc., the California Manufacturers and Technology Association and the International Bridge, Tunnel & Turnpike Association warned that "more time was needed to assess the impact" of the rules.

They noted that "ankle bracelets for parolees," along with cell phone calls and laptops, "may be adversely affected by the metallic reflective standard" because the signals "must be able to penetrate the glazing in vehicles."

Garmin's initial testing said the signals from GPS devices were degraded.

A board document issued Friday said its testing has shown no impact on parolee ankle bracelets. Other testing showed cellular phones, GPS systems and electronic toll payment systems should work, the board said.

California said garage door openers should work fine "as long as the device is placed within or pointed through a deletion window."

Toyota Motor Corp. told the board in June the new regulation will require significant redesigning of its vehicles. All of Toyota's GPS antennas are mounted inside the vehicles; the new regulation will require the Japanese automaker to "redesign our GPS antennas to mount them on the roof even if deletion areas are allowed." The initial regulation will cost $111 over the life of a vehicle; the 2016 standard will add $250 to a vehicle's cost. California says it will take five to 12 years for consumers to recoup the costs through reduced gasoline use.

dshepardson@detnews.com (202) 662-8735