Thanks to all who contributed to the spirited debate about the fuel cell smokescreen of focusing on a future technology while doing nothing about fuel economy today. But earlier attempts at developing a diesel vehicle that could get 80 miles per gallon proved just as fruitless, and could haunt Al Gore if he decides to run for president again.
The government's collaboration with the auto companies (funded in part by your tax dollars) on high-minded goals didn't start with the Bush Administration's FreedomCar and fuel cells. This initiative merely replaced the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) that ran for the length of the Clinton Administration but generated almost nothing concrete.
In a nutshell (as described in wonderful detail in Taken for a Ride by Jack Doyle), the Clinton Administration gave up its promise of raising CAFE (fuel economy) standards in favor of focusing funding on the 80 mpg "supercar" through the PNGV, leading up to prototype diesel-electric hybrids from all three manufacturers in 2000 that were far from the goal of 80 mpg.
But the program was canned by the Bushies in 2001, and the Big 3
(Chrysler, GM and Ford) immediately forgot about diesel hybrids.You can get all of the details from this 2001 PNGV review, or the short version on Wikipedia.
Kudos to the University of California's Dan Sperling, who said the PNGV was in serious trouble back in 1996.
So should Mr. Gore decide to seek the highest office again (disclosure -- he got my vote 3x), I'd like him to explain why as the point man for global warming for 8 years there was so little done towards his professed goal of raising the CAFE standards to 40 mpg? He can cry about the polar bears now, but what happened when he was Veep?
