Auto Makers Aim to Slow Effort To Raise Fuel-Economy Targets

[babylonsister]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117383117929236185.html?mod=rss_whats_news_us

Auto Makers Aim to Slow Effort
To Raise Fuel-Economy Targets
By MIKE SPECTOR
March 14, 2007; Page A2

Detroit's beleaguered auto makers and rival Toyota Motor Corp. of Japan hope to slow gathering momentum in the Democratic Congress to legislate tightened fuel-economy standards for cars and trucks.

The chief executives of General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., along with the leaders of the U.S. arms of DaimlerChrysler AG and Toyota are expected to argue on Capitol Hill today that the current U.S. regulatory regime is flawed and hasn't curbed American dependence on foreign oil since the system was introduced 30 years ago. The auto makers have long opposed the current system, known as Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE.

But the new Democratic Congress appears determined to raise standards for federal rules on vehicle mileage amid concerns about global-warming emissions and oil consumption. That political will gained momentum after President Bush's State of the Union address, in which he called for fuel-economy standards to increase 4% each year between 2010 and 2017.

In a Senate hearing last week, Democrats and Republicans responded coolly to suggestions by the Bush administration that the White House take greater control of auto-industry regulation. That would give the Transportation Department flexibility in setting standards, often in consultation with auto makers that could share confidential product plans. But congressional sentiment leans increasingly toward legislation that would mandate fuel-efficiency targets.

"For those who want to do nothing about fuel economy, you're the perfect spokesman," Sen. Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat, told National Highway Traffic Safety Administration administrator Nicole Nason during last week's hearing. Sen. Olympia Snowe, a Maine Republican, said she sensed "foot-dragging," "reluctance" and "bureaucratic obstacles" in the White House's fuel-economy improvement efforts.

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[unhappycamper]

1. I'm thinking about buying a new car this year, and

one of my primary requirements is something that get at least 40MPG.

No wonder Detroit is going out of bidness.

[Bill219]

2. I hear what you are saying

My wife and I just got into a new Prius with the 1.9% financing. We both love the new car and the ole' X-Terra is now parked in the garage and only used for hauling stuff home from Lowes