With high gas prices serving as a backdrop, Vice President Al Gore announced today that the Big Three automakers have agreed to mass produce vehicles with "significant improvements" in gas mileage within four years.
The vehicles will have hybrid electric-gas engines, a concept the automakers have been working on through the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles, a government-industry initiative started in 1993.
"For the first time, we look forward to a date when remarkable new technologies will be moving from research labs to showrooms and dealerships across the country," said Gore, who did not specify how much better the mileage would be or how many of the new vehicles would be produced.
Gore also got his first look today at high-mileage test cars built by General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., and DaimlerChrysler AG.
Through the partnership, the Clinton administration challenged automakers to develop a family-size sedan that gets at least 80 miles per gallon by 2004. None of the concept cars reached that goal, but automakers say they show the benchmark is reachable.
Gore said the U.S. auto industry leads the world and the partnership can help it stay on top. He also urged Congress to extend the $4,000 tax credit now given to purchasers of electric cars. "I believe we have to use this moment to make the investment that will keep our progress and prosperity going far into the future," Gore said.
"By reducing our dependence on foreign oil, by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and by positioning the American auto industry as the world leader in a crucial new market in this new economy, the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles can help to keep our economic engine humming for decades to come.
The Energy Information Administration this week said average gasoline prices nationwide had dipped by 2 cents during the past week to $1.55 a gallon for all grades. The private Lundberg Survey showed a $1.59 average at 10,000 service stations it monitors.
The high cost of gas has been a hot topic in Washington, with truckers twice jamming city streets in protest and lawmakers scrambling for a way to bring down prices.
During a news conference Wednesday, Clinton said he hopes the high gas prices will promote efforts to become more energy efficient and develop alternative fuels.
"I hope very much that this is a little bit of a wake-up call for all of us and that we can put this on the front burner and get some action," Clinton said.
The partnership got $250 million from the federal government in 1999 - much of it spent for research at government and university laboratories - and $980 million from the Big Three.
The automakers unveiled their test cars in recent months. They use lighter materials, more aerodynamic designs and electric-diesel hybrid engines to squeeze out better fuel economy. The futuristic designs include tiny cameras in the place of rearview mirrors, electric controls instead of door handles and grill vents that open only when the engine needs extra air.
Paul Wood, spokesman for the United States Council for Automotive Research, which represents the Big Three, said that with America's dependence on foreign oil becoming so costly, the time is right to apply the fuel savings technologies developed through the partnership.
"We're not going to wait until later on. As soon as these technologies are available, they are going to be applied across the board to our most popular cars," he said. "We're going to work on things that are applicable to both cars and light trucks."
Gas-guzzling light trucks - minivans, pickups and sport utility vehicles - are more popular than ever, amounting to 46.3 of vehicles sold in 1998. Some consumer groups question how devoted the automakers are to making fuel-efficient vehicles. Katherine Silverthorne of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group said automakers lobby against higher fuel economy standards while giving lip service to better gas mileage through the partnership.
"They're sucking over a billion dollars to make one vehicle that isn't + even available to consumers while Honda and Toyota haven't spent any government money and they have cars on the road," she said.
The fuel-efficient Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight get between 60 mpg and 70 mpg but are considered too small to appeal to a broad range of American families.