Global Warming

For two decades, automakers enjoyed unchanging fuel economy rules that allowed them to sell bigger, heavier and more powerful vehicles. Suddenly, as the global warming debate heats up, Congress, some states and even the Bush administration are determined to change that.  story  Published: 2/5/07 1:00 AM
   • Global Warming: Asking the industry leaders
   • The ABCs of CO2
   • Dems flex muscles, vow climate action
   • Inaction on global warming leaves ex-GM exec cold
   • An assault on the battery issue
   • How to proceed: 3 perspectives
   • Other nations push tougher standards

Automotive News asked top auto executives about global warming. The central questions: Is the planet heating up? If so, do vehicles contribute to global warming? Do automakers have a responsibility to reduce emissions of C02 from vehicles?  story  Published: 2/5/07 1:00 AM
   • The heat is on

Among the great achievements of the past 120 years was learning how to burn gasoline and diesel fuel to propel cars and trucks. But scientists who study global warming say there's a downside, and here's how it works. ...  story  Published: 2/5/07 1:00 AM
   • The heat is on

Democrats who took control of Congress in the November election promised they would make global warming a top priority. And they're starting to deliver. A number of bills have been introduced, and hearings have begun. Most notably, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has created a special committee to look at the issue.  story  Published: 2/5/07 1:00 AM
   • The heat is on

George Eads says the first time he was jolted by the realization that global warming could threaten the planet -- and the business-as-usual attitude of the auto industry -- was about 20 years ago by Betsy Ancker-Johnson, GM's chief environmental officer (pictured).  story  Published: 2/5/07 1:00 AM
   • The heat is on

Prabhakar Patil is an officer in the army of automotive engineers working to make fuel-efficient vehicles that people actually want to buy. Patil, the former head of the hybrid-vehicle program at Ford Motor Co., knows by heart the gloomy statistics on global warming - the billions of tons of carbon dioxide accumulating in the atmosphere, the rise in temperatures.  story  Published: 2/5/07 1:00 AM / UPDATED: 2/7/2007 9:52 A.M.
   • The heat is on

Some environmentalists still think of automakers as unrepentant defilers of the Earth. But increasingly, people dedicated to protecting the planet acknowledge that car companies must be free to produce products that people want - and must be able to make a profit - while they try to minimize the impact of cars and trucks on the natural world.  story  Published: 2/5/07 1:00 AM
   • The heat is on

The United States isn't the only place where automakers are feeling heat to do something about global warming. The European Union is moving toward mandatory standards that will replace voluntary targets for limiting vehicle greenhouse-gas emissions. That's because most automakers are likely to miss the targets by the 2008-09 deadlines.  story  Published: 2/5/07 1:00 AM
   • The heat is on