EVLN(SUV foe, DChrysler hybrid if it can be priced competitively)

[brucedp@dog.com]

EVLN(SUV foe, DChrysler hybrid if it can be priced competitively)
[The Internet Electric Vehicle List News. For Public EV informational
 purposes. Contact publication for reprint rights.]
 --- {EVangel}
Environmentalists Eye Gas Guzzlers .c The Associated Press By CURT
ANDERSON
WASHINGTON (AP) - Auto manufacturers didn't pay up to $10.2 billion in
federal gas guzzler taxes last year because of a 22-year-old law that
exempts light-duty trucks including increasingly popular sport utility
vehicles, an environmental group says.

``Automakers are avoiding paying taxes and cranking out polluting and
gas-guzzling vehicles,'' said Brian Dunkiel, director of tax programs
at Friends of the Earth, a Washington-based advocacy group.  ``It's
not fair, it's bad for the environment, and it's making America more
dependent on foreign oil.''

Under a 1978 law passed by Congress to encourage production of
fuel-efficient vehicles, U.S. and foreign auto manufacturers must pay
taxes ranging from $1,000 to $7,700 for each new passenger car that
gets below 22.5 miles per gallon on a combined city-highway average.

Light-duty trucks, which include pickups, minivans, full-size vans and
SUVs, were exempted on the theory that many were used in businesses
such as construction and on farms. At the time, these vehicles made up
about a quarter of new vehicle sales.

Now, however, light-duty trucks are almost half of all new sales, and
are frequently used more for commuting and other daily chores.

The study released Wednesday by Friends of the Earth, concluded that
if these vehicles were held to the same 22.5 mpg standard, the
industry as a whole would have paid the federal government $10.2
billion alone in additional gas guzzler taxes in 1999 - and $43.1
billion over the past five years.

Taxes that could have applied to SUVs alone in 1999 amounted to $5.6
billion, the study found. Pickup trucks avoided $3.9 billion and vans
and minivans, which tend to be more fuel efficient, $811 million.

Meanwhile, the Internal Revenue Service collected only $48 million in
gas guzzler taxes on passenger cars in 1998 - the most recent year
complete data was available - mainly on luxury sedans and high-end
sports cars.

The U.S. auto industry has acknowledged room for improvement in the
fuel efficiency of SUVs. Ford Motor Co. recently announced it will
increase the fuel economy of its SUV fleet by 25 percent, from 18 mpg
to 23 mpg, by 2005. General Motors Corp. says it will offer pickups
and buses that burn up to 50 percent less fuel and DaimlerChrysler AG
has a gas/electric version of its Dodge Durango SUV ready for market
if it can be priced competitively.

Gloria Bergquist, spokeswoman for the Alliance of Auto Manufacturers
representing 13 major U.S. and foreign auto companies, said extending
the gas guzzler tax to light-duty trucks would inevitably raise costs
for consumers while not hastening the availability of more
fuel-efficient, less polluting vehicles.

``Automakers are already competing with each other to bring more
fuel-efficient vehicles to market,'' she said. ``Our view is that
competition is going to drive more progress.''

Industry officials also said that the Friends of the Earth report
produced inflated estimates of the potential tax avoided, noting that
the federal fuel efficiency standard for a company's entire light
truck fleet is 20.7 mpg, compared with 27.5 mpg for cars.

But environmentalists said even if light-duty trucks were given a
similar fuel-efficiency discount for tax purposes, the 1978 law would
still permit them to avoid billions of dollars in taxes every year.
They said the exemption acts as a subsidy for larger vehicles that
burn more gas and cause more pollution.

``I believe we should close the tax loophole that gives the worst
vehicles an advantage,'' said Ralph Nader, the longtime consumer
advocate who is running for president on the Green Party ticket.

On the Net:
Friends of the Earth: http://www.foe.org
U.S. automakers:
http://www.gm.com
http://www.ford.com
http://www.daimlerchrysler.com
AP-NY-08-31-00 0300EDT
 ...
  http://wire.ap.org/   feedback@thewire.ap.org
Copyright 1998 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Tel# 415-621-7432 Fax:415-552-9430
1390 Market, Suite 318 Fox Plaza, SF, CA 94012 USA
Contact: Steve Elliot for Email Web access for AP.
 ---
  EAA San Jose EVents Officer http://eaaev.org/sjeaa            ____
 Bruce {EVangel} Parmenter   http://eaaev.org/brucedp        __/o|__\~
'Electric cruis'n the Santa Clara Valley'    Get Amp'd =)---'@ -----@'

____________________________________________________________
woof! woof! I'm @dog.com
Get your free @dog e-mail at http://www.dog.com