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D.C. Auto Show Goes Green

Automakers hope to take Congress for a ride

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

January 23, 2008
When is an auto show more than just a place for automakers to show off new cars and trucks to consumers? When the auto show is in Washington, D.C. of course.

Just a month ago official Washington pounded the U.S. auto industry demanding 40 percent increases in fuel efficiency by 2020. So the battered captains of the auto industry are in the Capital City ready to underscore green technology and plans to spend tens of billions of dollars to improve the vehicle efficiency.

A parade of green cars arrived in D.C., including hydrogen fuel cell vehicles of the future, plug-in hybrids and bio-diesels. There is as much green in town as there is on Saint Patrick’s Day in Chicago.

At stake are millions of dollars in future research and development grants and loans from Washington.

The Washington D.C. Metro authority plans to buy 952 GM buses, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has ordered 480 hybrid buses and Minneapolis/St. Paul Metro plans include up to 300 hybrid buses.

None of this new green is cheap. The only way many American cities have been able to afford the new buses is with federal grants picking up some of the sticker price.

The GM hybrid buses cost about $500,000, versus $300,000 for a standard diesel bus.

Ford SUVs

Not to be outdone, Ford Motor Co. is will show off improvements in efficiency and horsepower for the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner SUVs. Ford also plans to announce that a reduced the costs of its hybrid powertrain of as much as 30 percent.

Ford will show off a redesigned 2009 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner. The SUVs are powered with a new 2.5-liter engine that boosts fuel economy by 1 mpg, while generating 170 horsepower.

While the automakers mingle with the politically powerful, U.S. consumers are taking a wait and see approach on the sidelines. While hybrid sales climbed 38 percent last year to 350,000 vehicles, that is still just 2.2 percent of the 16.1 million vehicles sold in the U.S.

Ford is still in the red with hybrids. In 2007, Ford sold 25,108 of the hybrid SUVs, up from 22,603 in 2006. Since introducing the first American hybrid in 2004, Ford has lost almost $3,200 per vehicle.

Nissan Motor Co. also reports losing money on the hybrid Nissan Altima, while Honda Motor Co. stopped selling a hybrid version of its Accord sedan last year because of poor sales.

Prius rules

Then there is the Prius from Toyota, a star of past D.C. auto shows.

The popular Toyota Prius hybrid was a big winner in the U.S. last year. Prius sales dominated the hybrid market with more than 50 percent of all U.S. hybrid sales. The Prius set a record for U.S. sales at 181,221 in 2007, a 53 percent gain over 2006.

Amid all the green, there is some old-fashioned horsepower and grit for the handful of faithful searching for the glory days of V-8 power and the smell of burning rubber.

Corvettes and Porsches are on display and not far away, the Washington area Meathead Racing team is showing off a pair of Miatas decked out in full racing trim. A passing Porsche Boxster owner was quick to note that he gets around 30 miles per gallon in highway driving.

Well, most of the time, anyway.

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