NRC: 80-mpg vehicle won't be ready by 2004

WASHINGTON (Aug. 15)—The goal of a government-industry task force to develop an affordable family vehicle that can go 80 miles on a gallon of gas probably isn't achievable by its self-imposed deadline of 2004, the National Research Council has said in a new report. The Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles was established by the Clinton administration and the Big Three auto makers in 1993. Although the PNGV has achieved "a number of significant successes to date," the report said, "no reasonable amount of funding would ensure achievement ofà80 mpg" by 2004. The concept cars produced by General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler Corp. are priced out of most families' reach, the report said, and "Tier 2" emissions control standards for cars and light trucks "will require radically better emissions control technology."