THE WHITE HOUSE

OFFICE OF THE PRESS SECRETARY

FOR RELEASE UPON DELIVERY 10 A-M Wednesday, September 29, 1993

HISTORIC PARTNERSHIP FORGED WITH AUTO MAKERS AIMS FOR 3-FOLD INCREASE IN FUEL EFFICIENCY IN AS SOON AS TEN YEARS

New Technologies, New Economic Opportunities, New Types of Cars

WASHINGTON -- President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore today joined with the Big Three American auto makers to announce an historic new partnership aimed at strengthening U.S. competitiveness by developing technologies for a new generation of vehicles up to three times more fuel efficient than today's -- a technological challenge comparable to or greater than that involved in the Apollo project.

The agreement sets groundbreaking research and development goals for industry and government engineering teams. A model for the new partnership between government and industry, this all-out effort will ensure that the U.S. auto industry leads the world in technology, preserving and creating jobs and economic growth. Research projects will be launched in three categories:

This new partnership represents a technological venture as ambitious as any America has attempted, coordinating the efforts of America's best scientists and engineers to develop vehicles it would have been hard to imagine even a few years ago. Technologies previously available only in the defense industries will help redefine what's possible. America's national laboratories and other research facilities will be able to apply their expertise. But this is not a government project with government goals. It allows American business to set a path to meet ambitious objectives and define areas where government support can be most helpful.

A NEW PARTNERSHIP FOR CARS OF THE FUTURE

Ensuring U.S. Leadership, Expanding Economic Opportunity, Preserving Jobs, Protecting the Environment

Summary

This new partnership forged by President Clinton, Vice President Gore and America's Big Three auto makers -- General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler -- is aimed at strengthening U.S. competitiveness by developing technologies for a new generation of vehicles up to three times more fuel efficient than today's. It is a technological venture as ambitious as any America has ever attempted and a model for the new partnership between government and industry envisioned by President Clinton. This partnership is an all-out effort to ensure that the U.S. auto industry leads the world in technology, expanding economic opportunity, preserving jobs, protecting the environment, and strengthening our economic competitiveness.

The Big Three Auto makers and the federal government have agreed to ambitious research and development goals for automobiles of the future. The long term goal is development of affordable, safe, attractive, and dramatically more efficient automobiles. It is a bold statement of America's commitment to environmental stewardship and environmental protection -- not only in the United States, but around the world. Groundbreaking research and development goals for industry and government engineering teams will be launched in three categories:

This new partnership will coordinate the efforts of America's best scientists and engineers to develop vehicles hard to imagine even a few years ago. It puts the principles of the Vice President's National Performance Review to work, bringing together agencies that had no organized way of coordinating their research efforts to now work toward a common goal, sharing information and avoiding duplication. Technologies previously available only in the defense industries will help redefine what's possible. America's national laboratories and other research facilities will be able to apply their expertise, re-directing the best talent in the U.S. defense research agencies to attack a peacetime challenge.

But this is not a government project with government goals. It allows American business to set a path to meet ambitious objectives and define areas where government support can be most helpful. It will provide a balanced set of performance goals that can be used to set research priorities. The engineering teams will be charged with determining which of the many technical options should be pursued. Government and industry research will be efficiently focused on the highest priorities and practical products will move to the market expeditiously.

Highlights

The Partnership at Work