A partnership between the federal government and the &uot;Big Three&uot; domestic automakers has pumped almost $1.

Tuesday, August 14, 2001

A partnership between the federal government and the &uot;Big Three&uot; domestic automakers has pumped almost $1.8 billion on research to produce a family sedan that gets 80 miles to the gallon by 2004. Now, the National Research Council says the group must soften its goals, because 2004, they say, is too ambitious.

But technology exists, in its infant stages, to power cars fully or partly with alternative energy sources. Japanese auto makers already have gas-electric hybrids on the road in this country, getting 70 miles to the gallon or more. It’s clear that the goals set by the government-industry partnership are not too ambitious – if only it were made a high-priority project.

The companies – Ford, General Motors and Daimler Chrysler – say they’ve built high fuel-efficiency prototypes, but that they aren’t affordable for the average family and need to run on diesel fuel. But how is it that Honda and Mazda have managed to produce affordable hybrid cars?

Frankly, auto sales are not suffering as a result of high gas prices. In fact, gas-guzzling SUVs and minivans are more popular than ever. The consumer demand is providing no incentive for the automakers to step up their efforts toward high fuel-efficiency vehicles.

Maybe if the big three took their advertising budget – which it uses to feed the popularity of its inefficient SUVs – and put it into research, domestic hybrids and other fuel-efficient alternatives would be a reality by 2004.

Since they won’t do that, it’s time for the Bush administration to renegotiate the partnership and start expecting more effort out of the auto companies. It will be cheaper and wiser than more oil exploration.