The EPA announced the change by calling it the "elimination" of credits for an "almost universally hated" feature. But is start-stop truly hated, or misunderstood?

Start-stop is a relatively small feature with a dense engineering stack behind it. Modern systems tie together the engine control unit, starter-alternator hardware, beefed-up 12-volt or ...

For more than a decade, automatic engine start/stop systems were sold as painless climate tech, a clever way to trim fuel use by cutting the engine at every red light. Now the feature is rapidly ...