Clean Car Campaign

Action Alerts

New Hybrid and Fuel Cell Announcements at Detroit Auto Show

Greetings,

Although the hype surrounding this year's Detroit auto show would never suggest it, there was at least one important showing with relevance to those interested in buying a cleaner car in 2002. No, we're not talking about GM's new "Autonomy" fuel cell concept, conservatively projected to be ready for consumers by 2020. And no, we're not talking about the companion announcement by Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham that hailed the new "Freedom CAR" fuel cell research partnership.

Rather, we're talking about Honda's new 50 miles per gallon gas-electric hybrid Civic, slated for showroom floors in early April. The Civic hybrid builds on the success of the two-seat Insight, becoming the first hybrid offered in a popular mass-produced vehicle. This notable step brings the appeal of hybrids even more into the mainstream. With an expected price range of around $20,000, the Civic hybrid will be offered as an option costing about $2,000 more than the conventional luxury Civic EX. Honda is projecting sales of about 2,000 cars a month.

Ford also repeated promises to offer a hybrid-electric version of its popular small SUV, the Escape, in 2003--and DaimlerChrysler says it will offer a hybrid in 2003 as well. Toyota plans to increase sales of its Prius hybrid by over 40%, and says it will sell 300,000 hybrid vehicles per year worldwide by 2005.

While these new hybrid-electric offerings are good news, it must be tempered with an understanding that fleetwide fuel economy stands at a twenty year low, with truck sales now outpacing cars for the first time. Without new policies to increase overall fuel economy, our progress in bringing new hybrids to market may be offset by the introduction of still more gas guzzlers. The energy debate scheduled for the U.S. Senate next month will be a key opportunity for advancing new fuel economy standards, as well as providing incentives for advanced technologies like hybrid-electric vehicles.

The Energy Department's announced fuel cell program may help in the long-run, but it will do nothing to counter the environmental impact of 150 million new automobiles sold over the next decade. The program it replaces, the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (or PNGV), was similarly flawed, though it did at least have a performance target. During its eight-year history, the only companies to produce high mileage hybrid vehicles for the U.S. market were ones that were excluded from the program. It is time for lawmakers, and the auto industry, to make commitments to NEAR-term improvements in overall fuel economy. We'll keep you posted on how you can help in the upcoming Energy debate, as well as news about the hybrid Civic as it reaches dealer showrooms. Or, visit the Clean Car Campaign's website, under "What's New," at: http://actionnetwork.org/ct/3p111111uPJf/CCP.