DC Wants to be 1st With US Diesel Lineup Web source: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070124/AUTO01/701240351/1148 DCX set to beat emissions standards CEO Zetsche says heavy-duty '07 Dodge Ram will be first pickup to meet 2010 diesel rules. David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau WASHINGTON -- DaimlerChrysler AG CEO Dieter Zetsche confirmed Tuesday that the company will meet 2010 diesel emissions standards well ahead of time with the 2007 Dodge Ram heavy-duty pickups, which go on sale next month. By beating federal emissions requirements by three years, the automaker is hoping to claim the green mantle and striving to convince American consumers to embrace clean diesel as an alternative to gasoline. In Europe, diesel accounts for half of all vehicle sales, compared with about 2 percent of all vehicle sales in the United States. Zetsche showed off the 2007 Dodge Ram 2500 and 3500 -- equipped with 6.7-liter Cummins turbo-diesel engines -- during media day at the Washington Auto Show, where he gave the keynote address. He also confirmed that the company will build a turbo-diesel Dodge Ram light-duty pickup that will boast up to 30 percent improved fuel economy and meet emissions standards in all 50 states when it hits the streets in 2010. The heavy-duty Rams will be the first pickups to meet the stricter diesel standards. Zetsche stressed that clean diesel technology is a viable solution to reducing the nation's dependence on foreign oil and improving air quality. But DaimlerChrysler "is not pursuing diesel to the exclusion of other alternate fuel technologies," he said. The company has invested more than $1 billion in fuel cell research and has more fuel-cell vehicles on the road than any other automaker, he said. Zetsche calls for reform Zetsche criticized the way the government mandates fuel economy under the Corporate Average Fuel Economy program, or CAFE. Automakers contend the system distorts the market because automakers often have to heavily discount fuel-efficient cars to offset sales of gas-guzzling vehicles to meet fleetwide average mandates. He said reforming the system makes "far more sense than just picking a number out of the air," a reference to calls to raise fuel economy requirements. Today, the standard is 27.5 mpg for passenger cars and 22.2 mpg for 2007 model light trucks. Zetsche's comments came hours before President Bush proposed raising fuel economy standards in his State of the Union speech. U.S. policy-makers need to stimulate greater demand and consumer choice for fuel-saving technologies such as diesel by providing incentives, like tax credits, ride-sharing lane use and free parking, on powertrains that achieve lower fuel consumption with clean emissions, he said. "American policy-makers must adopt a new and unique formula that encourages more technologies and more (customer) choice," Zetsche said. "I've always thought CAFE -- in the country that is the world's model for a free-market economy -- to be a bit of a contradiction." Diesel Jeep price named Also at the auto show, Chrysler Group CEO Tom LaSorda disclosed pricing on the 2007 diesel Jeep Grand Cherokee, which will arrive in dealerships in March. The Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited CRD will begin at $38,475. LaSorda and Zetsche declined to talk about Chrysler's upcoming restructuring, but confirmed Chrysler is reviewing incentives from Delaware in a bid to keep a plant open in Newark, N.J., where the Dodge Durango SUV is built. Chrysler Group lost $1.5 billion in the third quarter of 2006 and is expected to announce cutbacks in mid-February. $14M battery grant awarded In other news at the auto show: The U.S. Department of Energy announced $14 million in grants to support the development of battery technology for plug-in hybrids. It also is offering $3 million in grants for ethanol. Ford Motor Co. unveiled its plug-in electric fuel cell vehicle and said it would deliver a demonstration fleet of 20 ethanol fueled plug-in hybrids to six states later this year. You can reach David Shepardson at (202) 662 - 8735 or dshepardson@detnews.com.
