clarinews@clarinet.com (STAN DARDEN, UPI Business Writer) (02/08/90)
ATLANTA (UPI) -- A Chrysler Corp. official said Wednesday the Senate clean air bill now being debated in Washington could seriously affect the production of medium- and family-size cars in the United States. Al Slechter, Chrysler's federal affairs technical director, said a provision in the bill would require U.S. manufacturers to produce cars that would average 40 miles a gallon by the year 2000, severely limiting the production of medium- and large sedans, as well as some light trucks and vans. Another provision would set tailpipe emission standards for new cars so stringent that even government technology experts say they are not feasible. ``We're concerned about where this is all going and what it is the Senate is really voting for,'' said Slechter. He said the bill is under debate now in closed-door hearings between senators and members of the Bush administration. ``The senators want to avoid bloodbaths on the floor of the Senate,'' said Slechter. ``It's very touchy for members of the Senate to vote for anything that has to do with clean air legislation.'' Slechter and representatives of Ford Motor Co., General Motors and the Georgia Auto Dealers Association told a news conference that the bill would hurt Georgia's economy, which is closely tied to the auto industry. Both Ford and GM have auto plants in suburban Atlanta. Slechter said Chrysler and the other automakers were not opposed to the clean air bill that cleared the House committee. He said cars built since 1983 are fitted with emission-control equipment that has reduced tailpipe emission by more than 90 percent compared to earlier cars. Cars manufactured before 1983 account for about half the cars now on the road, but contribute nearly 90 percent of total tailpipe emissions. ``What we want is for the Senate to moderate its position so that something reasonable can come out of the Congress,'' said Slechter. Also expressing concern about the Senate version of the bill was Bob Anderson, manager of Ford's Atlanta assembly plant, which produces the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable, and Tom Brady, manager of General Motors' Doraville plant, which produces the Oldsmobile Cutlass. ``Georgia's economy has already suffered from the slow-down in automobile production,'' Anderson said. ``The last thing we need here is a new law from Washington that would shut us down completely.'' Brady said none of the cars built by either GM or Ford in Georgia would meet the proposed federal emission standards. ``With Georgia being the fourth largest producer of automobiles in the United States, this would have a negative impact on the entire country,'' Brady said.