As they visibly step up efforts to release alternative fuel vehicles, major automakers continue to buck attempts to control emissions. Nine auto makers, including GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler, formed a new lobbying group which will focus on safety and environmental issues, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. Peter Pestillo, vice chairman of Ford, will serve as the group’s first chair.
Honda is the sole major auto maker opting out of the group, possibly because
of its advanced emissions technology. In the early 1970s, it introduced an engine that met emissions standards other auto makers said were impossible to meet.
Its VV, a hybrid gasoline-electric vehicle that gets more than 70 miles per
gallon goes on sale this fall, and the company is working on a nearly zero-emission gasoline engine.
The alliance’s first order of business is emissions, since new EPA standards will
be much tougher, particularly for trucks and diesels.
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