Start-stop was just hit by the EPA. Now comes the real test.

On the latest episode of “The Drive with Lauren and Karl,” Karl Brauer and I talk about a feature drivers almost universally dislike: start-stop technology.

You know the feeling. You pull up to a light, the engine shuts off, and for a split second you wonder whether the car just stalled. Then it lurches back to life when traffic moves again.

This is not a beloved convenience feature. It’s not a reason anyone chooses one vehicle over another.

Automakers have spent years smoothing it out, but that hasn’t changed the basic problem. Most drivers still don’t like it. And now, with federal greenhouse gas rules being rolled back, there is a real question hanging over the industry: Will start-stop finally disappear?

This is one of those rare automotive issues