Show Marries Cars, Policies
Automakers Put Elevated Energy Consciousness on Display

By Sholnn Freeman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 25, 2006

After years of struggling for its own identity, the annual Washington Auto Show has become the spot where U.S. automakers showcase technology designed to address public policy concerns -- some of it promoted by taxpayer dollars.

In the United States, Detroit's auto show reigns as the capital of new vehicle introductions and access to the world's top executives. The New York show delivers marketing glitz and draws Wall Street's industry trackers. Los Angeles is the place to get a good sense for California automotive culture and to see the influence of Japanese automakers.

Washington's show brings the industry and federal policymakers together.

Kicking it off yesterday, U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman announced $119 million in research grants to help develop hydrogen-powered vehicles. Bodman said that the Bush administration is concerned about job losses in the automotive sector and that investing in technologies of the future will help create jobs.

Ford Motor Co. Chairman William C. Ford Jr., who announced 14 plant closures and up to 30,000 layoffs Monday, has complained that American technological innovation in the auto sector is falling behind that of other nations. Ford has asked the federal government to subsidize new technologies, including the production of hybrid vehicle components.

Meanwhile, automakers are showing off their own answers to rising gas prices and the nation's growing dependence on foreign oil.

At the auto show today, Ford will unveil a new Escape gas-electric hybrid, still under development, that also burns ethanol, the corn-based fuel. Ford has said it will produce up to 250,00 ethanol-capable vehicles this year, although few gas stations in the country sell the fuel.

General Motors Corp. is displaying the Saturn Vue Green Line sport-utility vehicle. GM says the Vue Green Line will get 20 percent better fuel economy than comparable non-hybrid Vue models. The Vue will have a "mild hybrid" system, which isn't as technologically advanced as competitors' models, but it will be the least expensive hybrid SUV, at $23,000. GM has said it will have 12 hybrid models on the market by 2012, including its Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks and SUV models such as the GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade.

DaimlerChrysler AG is showcasing three concept vehicles, including the Mercedes-Benz E320, with its new "BlueTec" diesel engines under the hood. Automakers have had trouble persuading large numbers of Americans to consider diesels, which typically have better fuel economy than conventional engines. And government regulators remain concerned that emissions from the engines are too dirty and cause health problems.

Environmentalists and some auto company executives argue that the hydrogen technology promoted by the Bush administration is decades away and that more needs to be done in the short run.

"They are often doing things that are so far away that it will not affect the carmakers' current product line," said Andrew A. Frank, director of the Future Automotive Technology and Energy Lab at the University of California at Davis. Frank sat on a panel discussion of a different technology -- gas-electric hybrids that plug in for recharging -- yesterday at the National Press Club. "It's almost like the holy grail. American car companies don't want to do short-term research. Fundamentally, [the long-term research] means they don't have to do anything now."

Despite the emphasis on fuel-efficient technology, some people attending the Washington Auto Show said they came just to see what was hot from the auto industry. Donald and Karen Still of Bowie were looking at the Buick Enclave crossover SUV concept from GM. They need a replacement for a Ford Explorer, and they want another mid-size SUV, regardless of the price of gas. "A family needs to have a luxury vehicle for the highway," Donald Still said. "If I'm going to drive, I might as well be behind the wheel of something I like."

The Washington Auto Show, which is sponsored in part by The Washington Post, runs through Sunday at the Washington Convention Center.