Ed Bobit's Publisher's Page

If you purchased a daily newspaper on September 3rd you undoubtedly were exposed to one of the auto indus­try's best unified efforts. My reference is to the ad develop­ed and paid for by the four major car makers through the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Assn.; it ran in all 1800 dailies to get an important message to the American car buying public.

The headline was "You'll Be Paying the Bill, So Let Con­gress Know Your Choice." At issue is the auto emission standards that, unless Congress acts soon, will make 1978 cars even more complicated, more costly and less fuel-effi­cient. The ad urges car owners and buyers to express their views to their congressmen and presents the two emission choices.

First, you can back President Ford's call for extension of current emission-control laws for five years. This would re­sult in continued improvement in air quality as new cars replace cars pre-dating emission controls, and it would let the auto makers deliver on their individual commitments to improve fuel economy by 1980 an average of 40-percent over 1974.

Or, secondly, one can allow the present federal law on emissions to go into effect making the 1977-78 model cars meet more stringent standards. According to estimates by the auto makers, this could increase the cost of a new car between $150 and $400 and could reduce fuel economy from 5 to 30-percent compared to current models.

The choice is both yours and mine. Certainly the voice of the fleet industry, with its heavy concentration of cars in significant numbers and the resultant burden of cost upon these volume purchasers, should be heard in Wash­ington.

Factually, most of the pollution from motor vehicles has been eliminated with current models. Hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions have been cut by more than 80-percent, and oxides of nitrogen approximately 40-per­cent, compared with precontrolled cars. The cost of emis­sion and safety equipment on 1975 models has now reach­ed $746 a unit. And now another possible $400.

As Oscar A. Lundin, Vice Chairman of GM, told the House of Representatives Automobile Industry Task Force, "The powerful discipline of market forces makes legis­lation affecting the automobile unnecessary at this time. There is no magic technology to achieve the mileage goals envisioned by some proposed legislation."

Realistically, there does exist the need for a productive pause in both safety and emission requirements. This does not mean a rollback in standards. Rather, it would be a period of time during which our country would be able to conserve both energy and inflationary costs while all con­cerned thoroughly investigate what has been accomplished and precisely what further steps are necessary in the year ahead.

If you did not respond to the September 3rd MVMA ad, the time is now! Make your choice! Washington and the auto industry deserve to hear from you.