Breaking News from America's Progressive Community...

Latest Releases
September

archives/1998
August
July
June

Making news?
E-mail us!
editor@newscenter.org

NewsCenter

On September 29, 1998, the government-industry joint effort to build an 80-mile-per-gallon prototype "supercar," the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV), will celebrate its fifth anniversary. Halfway through its 10-year life, the program is showing signs of an environmental mid-life crisis. By selecting efficient but dirty diesel engines as the technology of choice for our future transportation, PNGV puts our global warming goals on a collision course with air quality needs.

No Action on Fuel Economy. Despite the Partnership's research goal of an 80-mpg vehicle, automakers never have to actually sell high-efficiency cars. In fact, industry has used PNGV to foil action on fuel-economy standards that historically have helped limit global warming gases from passenger vehicles.

No Action on Air Quality. Based on the Partnership's emissions goals, the prototype car would emit three times more smog-forming pollutants than allowed under proposed California tailpipe standards. Thus, even if automakers brought a PNGV car to market, it might be virtually illegal to sell in California. Emissions from today's diesel cars and trucks will need to be cut over 10 times to meet these new standards. Furthermore, regulators in California voted last month to list particles from diesel engines as toxic because of their carcinogenic effects, further questioning the wisdom of the diesel approach.

The Return of Diesel. Despite evidence that diesel is "air-quality challenged," it continues to top PNGV's list of options. The auto industry has its own reasons for pushing diesel, not for 80-mpg cars, but to boost the fuel efficiency of lucrative sport-utility vehicles. Overwhelming sales of these inefficient vehicles have put many automakers in jeopardy of violating federal fuel economy standards. The administration appears to have bought industry's sales pitch to revive diesel, helping to fund research into diesels for both cars and light trucks.

The Preferred Approach. Public funds would be better spent on cleaner strategies. In the near term, gasoline vehicle fuel economy can be substantially improved without the negative consequences of increasing emissions. For example, Toyota Motor Company, which does not participate in PNGV, is already selling a car in Japan today that gets about 60 mpg running on gasoline. And many auto companies have announced plans to market super-efficient, zero-polluting fuel cell vehicles--which PNGV still considers a long-term option--within five years.

###