transportation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 8, 2008
1:00 PM

CONTACT: Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Erin Allweiss, 202-513-6254 or 202-277-8370 (cell)

NRDC Finds That Ford, GM Can Meet Nation’s Most Progressive Global Warming Standards

Congressional Bailout of Auto Makers Must Include Highest Efficiency and Fuel Standards

WASHINGTON - December 8 - General Motors and Ford are now positioned to comply with California's landmark global warming standards if they are applied nationwide, according to new data released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). These new findings are critical as Congress considers a major bailout of the auto industry.

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The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has 1.2 million members and online activists, served from offices in New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Beijing.

Posted in bailout, Energy, transportation

The Obama Economic Stimulus -- Will It Take Us Where We Need to Go?

Dear President-elect Obama,

The economic stimulus package you laid out today in your weekly radio and internet address is a great starting point -- very much needed as the downward spiral of the economy takes away the breath of even the most level-headed observer.

Posted in beyond obama, Economy/Trade, Education, healthcare, transportation

Could Electric Cars Charge up Struggling Automakers?

WASHINGTON — Now that automakers are all busy gearing up to make electric vehicles, consumers should be getting a choice of roomy, speedy, gasoline-free models that charge up at a standard 110-volt socket.

So when will those cars roll out of factories so plentifully that prices drop to what ordinary people can afford?

Posted in renewable energy, transportation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 4, 2008
3:21 PM

CONTACT: Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
Aaron Huertas, 202-331-5458

Auto Industry Aid Must Be Linked to Better Fuel Economy, Union of Concerned Scientists Expert Will Tell Congress Tomorrow

WASHINGTON - December 4 - David Friedman, an auto expert with the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), will testify tomorrow at a House Financial Services Committee hearing that Congress should link any U.S. auto industry financial assistance to vehicle performance standards that will provide a return on taxpayer investment, strengthen the industry, curb U.S. oil dependence, and help prevent the worst consequences of global warming.

The hearing will start at 9:30 a.m. in room 2128 in the Rayburn House Office Building.

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The Union of Concerned Scientists is the leading U.S. science-based nonprofit organization working for a healthy environment and a safer world. Founded in 1969, UCS is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and also has offices in Berkeley, Chicago and Washington, D.C. For more information, go to www.ucsusa.org.

Posted in Energy, transportation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 4, 2008
12:00 PM

CONTACT: Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA)
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167

Auto Solutions: * Green Jobs * Nationalize GM

WASHINGTON - December 4 -
WENDY THOMPSON
Thompson, a retired worker at American Axle in Detroit and former president of UAW Local 235, is helping organize a caravan of auto workers to D.C. There will be a rally seeing the caravan off on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Metropolitan Center for High Technology in Detroit, and it will arrive in D.C. on Monday morning.

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Posted in financial crisis, transportation

Electric Cars Put Hawaii on The Road to Independence

LOS ANGELES - Hawaii is to become the first US state to create a transport infrastructure that will allow cars to run almost entirely on electricity.

The plan involves building up to 100,000 charging stations in car parks and streets by 2012 and importing electric vehicles manufactured by a joint venture between Nissan and Renault.

Motorists who buy the cars will be able to purchase mileage plans - including recharging services and battery swaps - or use the charging stations on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Posted in alternative energy, Sustainability, transportation

Cutting Wages Won't Solve Detroit 3's Crisis

In the 1980s, Chevrolet proclaimed itself the "Heartbeat of America," but today the American auto industry barely registers a pulse. As Washington considers Detroit's plea for life support, the only place where pundits, politicians and Big Three executives seem to agree is that auto workers must make do with less or watch their jobs disappear.

Posted in bailout, financial crisis, transportation

Saving the Big 3 for You and Me...

Friends,

I drive an American car. It's a Chrysler. That's not an endorsement. It's more like a cry for pity. And now for a decades-old story, retold ad infinitum by tens of millions of Americans, a third of whom have had to desert their country to simply find a damn way to get to work in something that won't break down:

My Chrysler is four years old. I bought it because of its smooth and comfortable ride. Daimler-Benz owned the company then and had the good grace to place the Chrysler chassis on a Mercedes axle and, man, was that a sweet ride!

Posted in bailout, Economy/Trade, financial crisis, transportation

Lavishing Billions on Old Technology While True Innovation Is Scorned

It wasn't that long ago that Ford could give its stockholders a 215 percent return on investment in just three years. That's the three years between the company's introduction of the 2.5-ton Explorer, in October 1996, when gas was selling at $1.38 a gallon, and February 1999, when it threatened to dip below $1 a gallon. Ford was clearing $12,000 in profit on each Expedition ($15,000 on each Navigator), and making 1,040 of the SUVs a day for after-tax profits of $2.4 billion. So much for labor costs dragging down Detroit. Instead, it was stock profits blinding innovation.

Posted in bailout, transportation

California Officials Unveil Plans to Turn San Francisco into Electric Car Capital

SAN FRANCISCO - Officials in California have unveiled ambitious plans to turn the San Francisco Bay Area into one of the leading centres of electric vehicles in the world.

If it succeeds, the strategy announced yesterday will see billions of dollars poured into a new power infrastructure that will turn the region away from fossil fuel and to renewable energy - and convince millions of people to switch to green technology.

Posted in renewable energy, transportation