"As a result of this agreement," Obama said, "we will save 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the lifetime of the vehicles sold in the next five years."

The fleet standard of 35.5 miles per gallon provides some certainty for the struggling auto sector as they plan for new modes. The rules roughly correspond to California's tough standards that over a dozen states say they plan to adopt.

"Premier Doer has said Manitoba will adopt California fuel efficiency standards once legislative barriers are removed. Manitoba needs to act now," commented Gaile Whelan Enns, director of Manitoba Wildlands.