Green cars may save Detroit yet
By Shihoko Goto Feb 14, 2007, 19:00 GMT
WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- U.S. carmakers are only putting
their own futures at risk by not investing more in manufacturing
energy-efficient cars, especially when there is increasing demand for
vehicles that guzzle less gas even within the United States.
That`s the latest finding by the Civil Society Institute, a nonprofit
research group.
On the day Chrysler announced it would slash 13,000 jobs, the
institute`s president, Pam Solo, argued Detroit`s Big Three 'are stuck
in the `50s.' She said Wednesday Ford and General Motors as well as
DaimlerChrysler all need to start producing autos with better gas
mileage that are 'fun to drive and interesting-looking' or risk losing
even further market share to foreign competition.
Instead, U.S. manufacturers have been falling behind their European and
Japanese counterparts that are expanding their lines of green cars.
According to the institute`s 40mpg.org project, which is lobbying for
legislative change to make 40 miles per gallon a requisite for cars
driving on U.S. roads, there are 113 models outside of the United States
that drive an average of 40 mpg, but only two of them are actually
available in the U.S. market. Another point of concern is that the two
that are available in the United States -- the Toyota Prius and Honda
Civic Hybrid -- are both made by Japanese manufacturers.
That`s not to say, however, that U.S. manufacturers do not have the
know-how to build more efficient cars, given that a number of the more
environmentally friendly vehicles available in the European and Japanese
markets are actually made by the Detroit companies. Moreover,
40mpg.org`s spokeswoman Ailis Aaron Wolf argued that U.S. consumers are
as hungry for more energy-efficient cars as consumers elsewhere.
'There`s a potential market of at least 2.5 million' in the United
States so any argument by auto manufacturers that there is not as strong
a demand for efficient cars domestically as there is abroad simply does
not stand, Wolf said. Furthermore, she said more people were calling for
legislative change to push the mpg requirement up to 40 miles as soon as
possible from the current level of 22 miles and 27 miles for trucks and
cars respectively, instead of targeting the start date to 2017 or even
beyond.
Certainly, energy efficiency is something more drivers want as most
expect gas prices to continue trending upwards in coming years, said
Opinion Research Corp.`s senior research associate Graham Hueber, who
worked together with the 40mpg.org`s study.
Yet even as consumer groups advocate for more energy-efficient cars,
U.S. car manufacturers have actually withdrawn some of their more
environmentally friendly products. Indeed, in 2005, there were five cars
that drove an average of 40 mpg. Over the past two years, however,
Volkswagen withdrew its clean diesel versions of the Beetle and Golf,
while Honda pulled its hybrid Insight off the market, thus seemingly
contradicting 40mpg.org`s latest findings.
Therein lies one major hurdle for energy-efficient cars, namely
diesel-powered vehicles. While the ultra-clean diesel fuel is being
hailed by many legislators and environmentalists alike as an efficient
source of energy for cars, retailers are still finding that customers
shy away from diesel-powered vehicles as they remember the noisy, black
smoke-shooting cars of the past.
Nevertheless, assuming that gas prices will continue to rise in the long
run, public demand for more energy-efficient cars is only likely to
increase, and it would 'make sense' for car makers to plan accordingly,
Wolf said.
(Comments to energy@upi.com)
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