Not Forgotten, Super Efficient Cars

December 1, 2002 – Vol.7 No.36

NOT FORGOTTEN SUPER EFFICIENT CARS.

In 1993, the Clinton Administration, in its infancy and naivete, embarked on a program with the Big Three U.S. automakers to build appealing, commercially viable, super efficient, 80-mile-per-gallon family sedans that would be on the market in ten years. That program - the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) - spawned three cars - the Dodge ESX3, Ford Prodigy, and General Motors Precept - each hybrid-electric that achieved fuel economy better than 70 miles per gallon. Not bad. The program was technically a success though the vehicles used diesel engines, not gasoline as originally planned for.

So what happened? Where are the cars when we need them now?

The Chicago Tribune (in print and online) is featuring the series Supercar: The Tanking of an American Dream, an in-depth look at the rise and fall of the PNGV program.

While remnants of PNGV live on in the Bush Administration’s FreedomCar program, that program does not have the funding, nor the gusto PNGV had. And did taxpayers who funded PNGV get more fuel efficient cars from Detroit? Not yet. But as the U.S. Big Three, and others in the PNGV program got mired in politics and self-interest, Honda and Toyota were watching closely and brought hybrid cars of their own into the marketplace, and are both expanding their offerings. And they, too, are now the first to deliver a handful of fuel cell cars to paying customers - Honda’s $500-a-month, 4-seat, 80-horsepower, 170-mile-range FCX and Toyota’s $10,000-a-month, 5-seat, 122-horsepower, 180-mile-range FCHV.

You should be able to march into a Ford, GM or DaimlerChrysler showroom now and buy a 70-plus mile per gallon family sedan. You can’t. Read why at the Chicago Tribune at http://www.chicagotribune.com/ (Free registration may be required for access and archives)