My jaw just hit the floor: Bush supports hybrid and flex/fuel cars!

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Yahoo! News
Bush supports hybrids, flex-fuel cars: spokesman

2 hours, 19 minutes ago

President George W. Bush will tell Detroit auto executives next week that he supports efforts to build more hybrids and vehicles that run on alternative fuels, the White House said on Friday.

Spokesman Tony Snow said Bush will tell the chiefs of Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group on Tuesday that he wants to see their businesses grow. But Snow would not say whether the Bush administration was poised to offer any help to the struggling companies.

"I don't want to get into discussions or even characterizations of the American auto industry other than to say that we are committed to its success," Snow said.

Ford, General Motors and Chrysler have for a year sought a meeting with Bush on things they think the government could do to help them. Two previously scheduled meetings were postponed.

Ford and General Motors, especially, have sustained staggering financial losses due to declining market share at the hands of foreign rivals and overwhelming legacy costs for worker and retiree health care and pensions.

Among other things, the U.S.-based companies would like more government incentives to retool factories and help lower their costs.

Detroit has stressed that it does not want a government bailout. And the White House has been cool to any suggestion of substantial government help and has encouraged the auto companies to work out their problems on their own.

Nevertheless, Bush has said the United States is "addicted to oil" and has encouraged new technologies to reduce the country's dependence on imported energy.

U.S. demand for gasoline accounts for about half the nation's use of nearly 21 million barrels of petroleum per day, according to Energy Department figures.

American-based automakers are gearing up their operations to produce more gasoline-electric hybrids and other vehicles that run on alternative fuels, like crop-based ethanol and bio diesel blends.

Snow signaled that Bush would raise energy issues at the meeting and support Detroit's efforts to explore alternatives to gasoline, which Snow said "gives us a little better ability to try to wean ourselves from an addiction to oil, especially foreign oil."

But Ford, GM and Chrysler trail Japanese manufacturers in the production of hybrid vehicles. Foreign manufacturers are not invited to the meeting.