[Pen-l] Did Al Gore Almost Save the Automobile Industry?

[Michael Perelman <michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The automobile industry is on the ropes, dying a death of 1000 cuts, 
most of them self-inflicted.  Virtually everybody knows about the 
stubborn reliance on SUVs and other gas hogs, as well as the foray into 
non-automobile finance.  I heard an interview with Dan Becker, the 
director of the Safe Climate Campaign, described another angle that in 
my ignorance I had not heard before.

I contacted Dan for some more information.  What follows are my rough 
notes from my phone conversation regarding The Partnership for New 
Generation of Vehicles:

Vice President Al Gore told the Big Three that he wanted them to develop 
a sedan-size car that could get 80 miles a gallon.  What is surprising 
is that they complied.  Each one produced a prototype -- a single 
prototype and then left the project to die. What was striking about 
Dan's presentation was that the prototypes seem to have been relatively 
solid.

Word of Detroit's success helped to spark Japanese interest in 
developing something similar.  Coming from an island far from its oil 
supplies, MITI was interested in transportation alternatives.  Of 
course, California's requirement for zero emission vehicles (which my 
neighbor was instrumental in squashing) also played a role in 
interesting the Japanese, but the Gore angle and the successful 
prototypes were new to me.

--

Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
Chico, CA 95929
530-898-5321
fax 530-898-5901
www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com
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