In the last few years, there has been a significant increase of interest related to vehicle automation, even though the fundamental building blocks for automating vehicles have been developed over the last several decades. In parallel, there has been a big push to make vehicles more energy efficient and less polluting, through the development of advanced powertrains, the development and promotion of alternative lower-carbon fuels, better managing vehicle miles traveled, and improving traffic operations. One of the key questions is how can vehicle automation contribute to energy efficiency and reducing emissions. In this paper, we outline some of these potential impacts, examining issues such as vehicle design, vehicle and traffic operations, and even potential changes in activity patterns.