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Automakers Unveil Guide to Advanced Technology Vehicles

16 May 2001

    WASHINGTON - The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers today unveiled 
"Advanced Technology Vehicles Take to the Road," a 20-page primer detailing 
Alliance member company high-technology developmental and production vehicles.

    "The visionary vehicles highlighted in this booklet will give consumers a
better idea of what kinds of hybrid electric, natural gas, electric and fuel
cell vehicles are available to them now, or will be soon," said Alliance
President & CEO Josephine S. Cooper. "The vehicles featured in the primer add
to the more than 70 models already on the market that have fuel economy over
30 miles per gallon. And the primer has some dazzling photos that will really
turn your head."

    The emergence of advanced technology vehicles offers an opportunity to
significantly increase vehicle fuel economy without sacrificing safety,
passenger and cargo room, towing capacity, performance and other features that
consumers demand.

    "Bringing the cars of the future to consumers does not come without
significant challenges," Cooper continued. "The cost of advanced technology
vehicles is considerably higher than the same vehicle powered by conventional
combustion engines. That's why we support consumer tax incentives to help
offset the initial higher costs until more advancements and greater volumes
make these vehicles less expensive to produce."

    Manufacturers are developing advanced engine technologies -- such as lean
burn, compression ignition, direct injection, hybrids and fuel cells -- that
could dramatically increase fuel economy for passenger cars and light trucks
in the future. 

    Alliance member companies spent more than $18 billion on research and
development in 1997 alone.  The National Science Foundation recently ranked
the auto industry first in investments in research and development, ahead of
pharmaceuticals and even the large computer industry.

    The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers is a coalition of 13 companies
whose vehicles represent 90 percent of U.S. automobile sales.