U.S. House Should Ok Gorton’S Deal

Once again, U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton has run over some powerful toes in the nation’s capital in an effort to bring lower-mileage vehicles to consumers. Last year he was stopped. This year he broke through.

In a recent compromise, Gorton was able to lift the freeze on studying tougher federal fuel mileage standards by agreeing that no new rules would be established without the approval of Congress.

The deal must still be approved by the House - and it should be.

It was the House, back in 1995, that put a freeze on any appropriations for the Department of Transportation that were tied to studying better fuel efficiency.

Now, DOT can investigate the possibility of applying the same fuel efficiency standards to “light trucks” (sport utility vehicles, minivans and small pickups) as it does to cars.

To see why that’s important, let’s comparison shop. In the showroom is:

An eight-cylinder sedan that gets 26 miles per gallon and pollutes less than an SUV or minivan. It is powerful, smooth and roomy. However, since it doesn’t meet the federal standard of 27.5 miles per gallon, it is subject to a “gas guzzler” tax.

An eight-cylinder SUV that gets 21 miles per gallon, exudes rugged individualism but is loaded with government-backed advantages. For instance, the gas guzzler tax doesn’t kick in until fuel efficiency dips below 20.7 miles per gallon. In addition, this vehicle is allowed to emit two to three times more pollutants than the average car without any additional costs to the buyer.

If you’re like many consumers, you didn’t know SUVs were given such special treatment. It certainly wasn’t part of the sales pitch. But it’s this favoritism that has helped make SUVs and minivans so wildly popular. In effect, the government has altered the free market and made SUVs and minivans a smoking deal by deducting the environmental costs.

The result has been dramatic. In 1999, fewer cars were sold than in 1980. Meanwhile, the sales of small pickups, minivans and SUVs have tripled. Consequently, U.S. reliance on foreign oil is now greater than it was during the “oil shock” of the ‘70s.

Ford Motor Company even admitted in May that in selling ever-larger SUVs, it has fallen short of its own goals for becoming a “greener” automaker.

Gorton has history on his side when he says automakers won’t produce more fuel efficient SUVS until forced to. On the emissions front, automakers already face a federal deadline in 2009 to produce light trucks that don’t pollute any more than cars do.

These two efforts will help bring to showrooms an SUV with a conscience. One that will get better mileage, pollute less and compete on the open market without Uncle Sam’s thumb on the scale.