President Obama and other administration officials were happy to announce that new regulations would require that new cars built for the 2012 model year and beyond would need to be more fuel efficient. Their move could actually increase interest in used cars in New York instead.

Economist Eric Morris writes in the New York Times that because it costs money to develop the technology for fuel efficient cars, new car prices will likely rise higher in the coming years and make used cars a more likely proposition for some buyers.

“Depending on the models involved and their mileage, keeping used cars around a bit longer may ultimately have benefits for the environment, given the energy that goes in to building a new car,” he writes on the paper’s website.

Right now, larger used cars in New York and around the country are seeing more interest from buyers, thanks to low gas prices, reports USA Today.

“People are more price conscious than gas [price] conscious,” one dealer told the news provider of the shift in buying to larger cars and SUVs.

Consumers who don’t want to see their tax dollars put towards efforts to keep automakers like General Motors afloat may want to take a look at used cars in New Jersey in light of news concerning the source of funding for a new marketing initiative.

The National Taxpayers Union says that a recent report from a Congressional oversight panel finds that GM is unlikely to be able to pay back a $50 billion investment made by the government with public funds earlier this year. In spite of that news, the organization notes that General Motors is still moving forward with a money back guarantee program.

The fine print hasn’t been finalized yet, but GM vice president of marketing Bob Lutz says that in its basic form, the automaker will accept returns of any car that has been on the road for less than two months or driven less than 4,000 miles.

“According to the State of New York Banking Department, a new car loses up to 20 percent of its value the second it drives off a dealer’s lot,” reports the NTU in a statement on the program. “Should taxpayers be footing this bill for GM’s Zipcar-like incentive program?”

Late night infomercials often tout that their products come with a money-back guarantee. Now General Motors is offering a similar 60-day guarantee, and the company admits that it may increase the supply of used cars in New Jersey and other states.

Buyers who are looking at Chevrolet, Buick, GMC or Cadillac vehicles now have the opportunity to return their purchases for up to two months and receive the full purchase price, notes Forbes. The campaign is designed to improve the perception of GM’s build quality, which has been seen as lacking compared to other manufacturer’s offerings.

“The parents went bankrupt, but the kids had nothing to do with it,” Lutz told the magazine of the new campaign, which avoids the stigma of government bailouts by not including the GM logo. “In the public eye, the brands are morally exonerated from the unfortunate moral event that befell their parents.”

The plan includes funding for a return rate of up to 3 percent of cars purchased, meaning that the company is willing to consider that several cars out of each one hundred sold could be returned, notes thetruthaboutcars.com. Although company officials estimate that fewer than 3 percent will actually be returned, they admit that it could increase the supply of used cars in New Jersey and nationwide.