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At a policy conference in the car-free environs of Mackinac Island, United Auto Workers president Ron Gettelfinger said he has come to "believe in the reality of climate change," but lamented that, "Unfortunately, there is an impression among the car-buying public that the Big Three build nothing but gas guzzlers, while Toyota is a division of Greenpeace." Huh. Wonder why that is. The quote is reported in a New York Times story headlined: Detroit Finds Agreement on the Need to Be Green.
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WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., will play host Wednesday to the heads of the Big Three automakers, General Motors (GM), Ford Motor Co. (F) and DaimlerChrysler Group (DCX), to discuss the future of the U.S. auto industry, his office said Monday.
The meeting comes as the Senate is preparing to discuss next week comprehensive energy legislation that includes a measure to reform fuel efficiency standards that automakers fear may cause further economic trouble for an already distressed industry.
Reid will host the meeting with two Michigan Democrat colleagues who opposed fuel efficiency legislation that passed out of the commerce committee in early May. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., chair of the Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee, and Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Reid will also meet with United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger.
In the face of political momentum rolling toward fuel efficiency reform in both the Senate and House, automakers are lobbying to soften the commerce committee bill that would increase fuel efficiency of the nation's combined fleets of passenger cars and light trucks to 35 miles a gallon from 2009 to 2019. They fear that not only would retooling plants and redesigning entire fleets be too costly, but the standards would put them at a disadvantage to foreign competitors such as Toyota because of their fleet compositions.
Levin and Stabenow have said the new rules should not penalize U.S. manufacturers, and improvements could rather be achieved through encouraging advanced technologies such as plug-in hybrids and improved battery technology.
The floor debate is likely to be tough as senators on both sides of the issue - those for more stringent reform and those against reform altogether - have promised to modify the bill.
Reid spokesman Jim Manley said that in introducing the legislation, the Senate majority leader expressed his support for higher fuel efficiency standards.
-By Ian Talley, Dow Jones Newswires; (202) 862 9285; ian.talley@dowjones.com;
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