Kerry: U.S. Needs More Efficient Vehicles

[Feanorcurufinwe]

John Kerry's victory in the New Hampshire primary has set off alarm bells in some quarters in the U.S. auto industry. The Massachusetts Senator, who is now the odds-on favorite to win the Democratic nomination and square off against George W. Bush in race for the President, has championed a sharp increase in fuel economy standards for cars and trucks. Moreover, the need to reduce the U.S. dependence on imported oil also has been a standard part of stump speech during the battle for the Democratic primary. Immediately after the vote were counted in New Hampshire, Kerry, who earned a Silver Star for gallantry under fire in Vietnam, said young Americans soldiers should not be held hostage to American dependence on foreign oil. Kerry, who also is an outspoken opponent of drilling for oil in the Alaskan Natural Wildlife Refuge, also tags the Bush administration as a rubber stamp for all sorts of special corporate interests.

Last fall when Howard Dean was still riding high in the polls and was presumptive Democratic nominee, Kerry gave a speech at the Detroit Economic Club in which he held out an olive branch of sorts to automakers. Becoming less dependent on foreign oil will create jobs for Americans and protect American automakers, Kerry suggested. He also noted in his remarks that fuel economy is not only a jobs issue but also an issue of national security.

"The dollars we spend at the pump can too easily fund the very terrorists that seek to destroy us. The threats that America faces today don't just come from gun barrels, they come from oil barrels and our dependency on (Middle East) oil. We need to disarm that danger," Kerry said. "We need a government that is on the side of our automotive industry that is active and dedicated to helping this nation prepare for the future," he added. "My plan will provide consumers with a tax credit of up to $2,000 to purchase clean cars. It will commit the federal government to helping build the infrastructure for using hydrogen and ethanol," the Massachusetts Senator said.

Kerry also said as President he was prepared to offer the auto industry up to $1 billion per year to help convert plants to building more energy-efficient vehicles. One way or another, manufacturers somewhere will continue to build cars, trucks, the SUVs and the buses, noted Kerry in a speech that drew only a small crowd and got negligible press coverage. "The only open question is who is going to build them. Already foreign automakers are building cars that will get all the acceleration and go all the distance but require half the gas," said Kerry.

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