October 2005

The Ecology Center would like to welcome you to the second edition of its Green Machines Tour e-newsletter, providing updates of tour events and other news about the production of fuel-efficient, union-made vehicle technologies here in the U.S. We invite you to forward the e-newsletter to your friends and colleagues, who can also sign-up to receive future e-newsletters at: www.greenmachinestour.org/list.shtm

A new report by the Breakthrough Institute, the Center for American Progress, and the Natural Resources Defense Council outlines a model policy framework that would help the US auto industry take actions to reduce the nation’s addiction to oil. The model policy includes, among other things, providing legacy health care cost relief to domestic auto companies that invest in advanced, fuel-efficient vehicle technologies. This would give the US companies the competitive edge they need over foreign counterparts, who do not have the same health care and pension burdens as US companies. Senator Barrack Obama (D-IL) and Representative Jay Inslee (D-WA) are two supporters of the proposed measures.

Read more: http://www.greenmachinestour.org/healthcare.shtml

Ford recently announced a plan to refocus its business on innovation. The plan includes a commitment to increasing global hybrid production capacity ten-fold, up to approximately 250,000 units annually by 2010, and a commitment to offering hybrid capability on more than half of the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicle lineup. The company will also be initiating a pilot program that will offset the green house gasses emitted in the manufacture of hybrid vehicles. The carbon offset program will pay for projects around the world that reduce carbon doxide emissions. In line with its new commitments, this month Ford is launching its second hybrid, the Mercury Mariner Hybrid, which was originally scheduled to be launched in 2006. The Mariner Hybrid is being built by UAW Local 249 at Ford's Kansas City Assembly plant.

Read more about the Mariner Hybrid: http://www.greenmachinestour.org/hybridford.shtml
Read more about Ford's announcement: http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm
See video of Ford's announcement: mms://multimedia.ford.com/fordstar/092105b.wmv

On August 8, 2005 President Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Unfortunately, the legislation omitted provisions that would have provided tax incentives for manufacturers of advanced vehicle technologies—provisions that the UAW and environmental groups both supported. The final version of the bill included only consumer incentives for the purchase of hybrids and advanced technology vehicles, which could encourage companies to import more hybrids and hybrid components from overseas, rather than entice companies to manufacture them in the US.

Read more: http://www.greenmachinestour.org/energybill.shtml

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently released proposed reforms to corporate average fuel economy rules. The proposal is significant because it tries to take into account the potential negative impacts on the domestic auto manufacturers, which have higher sales in the heavy truck and SUV market segments. Proposed changes include division of the light truck segment into six sub-segments, which are defined by vehicle “footprint” (wheelbase times track width) and have individual fuel economy targets. Fuel economy targets for the six sub-segments would range from 21.3 to 28.4 mpg for the six segments by 2011, compared with the current light truck target of 22.2 mpg by 2007. The proposal includes the potential for more drastic increases in mpg after 2011. The reforms are not expected to impact vehicle production costs or sales price.

More information is available on the NHTSA website: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/portal/
Read more: http://www.rff.org/rff/News/Features/

RECENT EVENTS

In June, the Green Machines Tour stopped at UAW Local 735 in Canton, Michigan for a Green Machines Technology Forum. The event showcased the environmental and economic benefits of new advanced vehicle technologies that are built in UAW Region 1A. The Ecology Center estimates that the advanced technologies in the region will increase the fuel economy of over 2 million vehicles by 4 to 20%, and create or preserve 2300 UAW jobs.

Read more: http://www.greenmachinestour.org/tourinfo.shtml#tour4
Read more in From the Ground Up: http://www.ecocenter.org/200508/greenmachtour_200508.shtml

UAW Region 2B's television show, Reality Check, covered the topic of alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies in June. The episode highlighted the positive influence these advanced vehicle technologies can have on the Ohio economy. Guest speakers included Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur and the Ecology Cente's Charles Griffith.

See clips: http://www.uaw.org/rc/watch.html