C'mon Detroit, Be A Leader

Since Friday's unprecedented California ruling requiring that cars sold in California increase fuel efficiency by 30 percent by 2016, some new developments have already pointed out that serious fuel-efficiency can be just around the corner.

On the other hand the marketing arm of the Auto Industry clamors, "They are proposing that we build vehicles that don't exist today using a combination of technology. ... It's a theoretical vehicle,"states Gloria Berquist of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.

Hogwash.

The Toyota Prius is already close to compliance, if it isn't already compliant. The new Honda Accord Hybrid Sedan will be close, if not already compliant. Even the Ford Escape Hybrid SUV should be compliant.

Fact is, the vehicle exists today and it isn't theoretical. The hybrid car model can be utilized to achieve California's requirements.

Why stop there?

Fuel-efficiency isn't an option. Glaciers are melting. Smog is poisoning us. Acid rain is killing our lakes. People and pollution are contributing. We must try to do something, and the Big 3 need to realize that the future will demand the most fuel-efficient technology.

All cars should move toward the hybrid model. In 10 years, such a move alone could have a serious impact on the environment. More important, it transitions the Automobile Industry, and Industry at large, into the New Energy Economy.

Hybrid cars, Fuel Cells, and Solar cells will revolutionize Energy in the decades to come.

Will America lead the future, or sell the future for short term gain?

According to ArvinMeritor, an auto industry supplier, a serious advance has been made for the future of fuel cells for cars, and it includes hybrid cars. "Gasoline engine combustion can be enhanced to significantly reduce fuel consumption and exhaust emissions, without sacrificing engine performance. A combination of the increasingly popular hybrids with Hydrogen Enhanced Combustion Enginge (HECE) technology can significantly help approach the fuel efficiency levels of fuel cells sooner," said Pedro Ferro, V.P. of Commercial Vehicle Systems for ArvinMentor, Inc.

The Big 3 have long maintained that fuel-cell-powered cars were the future of the Industry. Are they serious?

Well, hybrid cars are a link to the future, and the technology is in operation today.

Forget about SMOG and global warming. If all Americans improved fuel-efficiency by 30 percent, foreign-oil dependency could end.

The fact is the Big 3 have let the American people down. Yes the American consumer bears some responsibility, but the responsibility rests on the shoulders of the Auto Industry.

Environmental damage isn't some silly concept, nor is terrorism.

It's time for Detroit to stop fighting the facts, and to start fighting for the future. It's not just smog, Global Warming, or terrorism, it's the future of industry and the future of America.