PARTNERSHIP FOR A NEW GENERATION OF VEHICLES

The New Technology Initiative announced by President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore on February 22, 1993, is the basis for a new program joining the President, on behalf of the Federal Government, and USCAR, a partnership of Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors Corporation, in a unique research and development effort. The goal is the development of commercially-viable vehicle technology that, over the long-term, can preserve personal mobility while further reducing the impact of cars and light trucks on the environment, and reducing dependence on imported petroleum. Such a vehicle, that meets applicable safety and emission standards, and provides the performance, affordability, and comfort the public has come to expect from American automobiles, can help assure world leadership for the U.S. industry.

This partnership between the government and the industry will permit dedication of private and public resources to programs designed to achieve major technological breakthroughs that can make traditional regulatory interventions irrelevant. The goal of the program is to develop a vehicle which could achieve fuel efficiencies up to three times today's comparable vehicle, while at the same time cost no more to own and drive than today's automobile, maintain performance, size and utility of comparable vehicles, and meet or exceed safety and emission requirements. This goal is established with the knowledge that it will require maximum effort on the part of industry and government and results comparable to the Apollo Program or the Manhattan Project while achieving manufacturing process breakthroughs sufficient to make the vehicle commercially viable.

Throughout the research program, the industry commits to apply, as they become commercially viable, those technologies resulting from the research program that would be expected to significantly increase vehicle fuel efficiency, including improvements in today's powertrains, catalysts, materials, and manufacturing technologies and capacity for use of alternative fuels. But it is recognized that reaching the goal of fuel efficiencies up to three times today's comparable vehicle may be dependent on the development of revolutionary new approaches, such as fuel cells, to replace the internal combustion engine.

The development of fuel cells, as well as new generation batteries, ultra-capacitors, and other technologies may be beyond what is reasonable and realistic to expect to be achieved and it is recognized that the more radical the technology necessary to reach this goal, the less certain its achievement and the timetable in which it can be achieved. Nevertheless, the goal is to develop a concept vehicle during the 1990's and a production prototype within approximately a decade. It is expected that government laboratories will make major contributions, concentrating on areas where technology is unproven, and there is presently limited consumer demand as a result of the low price of fuel.

The research also will explore technologies that substantially improve and reduce the cost of the processes of designing, manufacturing, and producing vehicles, and that permit greater flexibility in incorporating new production processes and products. These technologies are critical for achieving commercially feasible vehicles.

This program represents a fundamental change in the way government and industry have interacted in the past and is intended to begin a new era of progress through partnership to address the nation's goals rather than through the confrontational and adversarial relationship of the past.

Industry and government immediately will name a team of their scientists and engineers who will coordinate lists of specific research and development projects to meet research and development goals and establish priorities. The team will address issues including the need to protect U.S. technology, the development of milestones and deliverables, and the establishment of a common information base.

The industry and government look forward to the unique and important challenge of this new partnership for progress.