Despite rising gas prices and the threat of global warming, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers – which represents Detroit’s Big Three, Toyota, BMW and four other automakers – will launch a print and radio advertising campaign this weekend to try to convince Americans to oppose stronger fuel economy standards.
The auto industry’s radio and print ads, which are targeted at 10 states, encourage people to tell their members of Congress to oppose a bill currently being considered by the Senate which would raise fleet-wide fuel economy to 35-mpg. They falsely claim that the pending legislation would lead to higher sticker prices and smaller, less safe vehicles.
“This misinformation campaign is akin to a drug pusher telling people that cutting their addiction is bad for their health,” says David Friedman, research director for the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) Clean Vehicles Program. “Automakers are not giving consumers the 34-mpg SUVs, the 37-mpg minivans and the 41-mpg family cars our nation’s top engineers and scientists can deliver, according to the National Academies of Science.”
The auto industry campaign is being conducted in states that have high SUV and light truck ownership – Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Here are the facts:
A pickup, for example, would only have to reach about 28 mpg if the fleet of all cars and trucks averaged 35 mpg. Improved fuel-economy technology on that truck would pay for itself in less than two years. And pickup owners would save an additional $4,500 on gasoline over the life of the truck.
A fleetwide average of 35 mpg would not affect vehicle size or choice, it would increase the number of higher fuel economy choices. Different standards would be set based on the size of each vehicle. Large pickup trucks would only have to reach about 28 mpg – automakers have the technology to do that now. These light trucks would maintain today’s performance, size and safety standards.
Studies by Oakridge National Labs, Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, the University of Michigan and Dynamics Research Inc. demonstrate that fuel economy is not linked with increased fatalities and that large vehicles do not have lower fatality rates than smaller vehicles. The increased weight is actually associated with increased fatalities.
More than 32 million Americans will drive at least 100 miles round-trip this weekend, according to AAA. At today’s average gas price of $3.23 a gallon, UCS estimates Americans will spend over $250 million for nearly 80 million gallons, while generating almost 880,000 metric tons of emissions.
If the fleet of cars and trucks on the road today averaged 35 mpg (up from 24.6 mpg today), drivers would save over $75 million and cut global warming pollution by some 260,000 metric tons – the equivalent of taking about 9.5 million of today*s automobiles off the road.
Manufacturers already have the technology to increase fuel efficiency for all vehicle classes – from two-seaters to four-by-fours.
See sample ads: http://info.detnews.com/audio/index.cfm?id=867
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