Automakers most likely won't meet former President Bill Clinton's goal of developing by 2004 an affordable "super car" that can go 80 miles on a gallon of gasoline, the National Research Council said Aug. 13. In its annual review of the multi-billion dollar Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV), the council, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, suggested the government and industry participants set new goals.That is already under way in the Bush administration. The PNGV is a partnership between automakers and the U.S. government. Administration officials have proposed slashing the program's budget by $39 million, or 28 percent. They say the partnership should focus on producing technologies that could apply to all types of vehicles instead of just an 80-mpg family sedan. The annual review also says the program needs a new set of goals to tackle skyrocketing U.S. demand for fuel, the popularity of gas-guzzling trucks and stricter controls on air pollution from vehicles. Detroit's Big Three -- General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and the Chrysler side of DaimlerChrysler AG -- have each produced fuel-efficient concept cars, but they are too expensive for most families to buy, and they run on diesel fuel that doesn't meet U.S. emissions standards. According to the council, it's unlikely those barriers could be overcome in time to get an 80-mpg production prototype by 2004. The Big Three have spent about $2.7 billion over the past three years on their fuel efficiency work. All three have since committed to building hybrid gasoline-electric trucks and sport utility vehicles in small numbers by 2004 with 20 percent to 40 percent improvements in fuel economy.
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