Light Trucks

Your editorial on the Environmental Protection Agency's new fuel efficiency standards was right on point ("EPA gets it right," Aug. 29). It lets us know where a Romney administration's priorities really would be on fuel standards. Hopefully, anyone who hasn't made up their minds about who to vote for in November will now know how to cast their ballot. James Maddox Jr., Baltimore

Your editorial on the Environmental Protection Agency's new fuel efficiency standards was right on point ("EPA gets it right," Aug. 29). It lets us know where a Romney administration's priorities really would be on fuel standards. Hopefully, anyone who hasn't made up their minds about who to vote for in November will now know how to cast their ballot. James Maddox Jr., Baltimore

DEARBORN, Mich. -- Sport utility vehicles, minivans and pickups -- so-called light trucks -- pose serious safety problems to their occupants while increasing the risk for other drivers on the road, said auto industry regulators and engineers at a two-day conference that ended here yesterday.Sport utility vehicles, which many Americans buy partly because they seem safer than cars in collisions between the two, roll over so often that their occupants are just as likely to die in an accident as car occupants, a prominent researcher said.

General Motors Shares fell $2.48, or 8.5 percent, to $26.79, the biggest drop in more than two years on concerns that 2008 industry sales may slide and the U.S. may adopt tougher fuel-economy standards for light trucks.

DEARBORN, Mich. -- Ford Motor Co. said yesterday that its fourth-quarter profit tripled, beating estimates, as strong U.S. earnings from Expeditions and F-150 light trucks helped offset continuing losses in Europe and Latin America.The automaker said profit from operations rose to $1.3 billion, or $1.10 a share, from $440 million, or 32 cents, in the year-earlier HTC period. Analysts had expected earnings of 98 cents a share, the average estimate in a survey by IBES International Inc.The improvement came mainly from Ford's rejuvenated U.S. operations, which struggled last year to introduce several new models but are now feeding growing demand for pickups and sport utility vehicles, analysts said.

DETROIT -- General Motors Corp., the world's largest automaker, and DaimlerChrysler AG said yesterday that U.S. sales of cars and light trucks rose last month, helped by model year-end discounts on sport utility vehicles and other trucks. Sales of GM models built in North America climbed 8.5 percent from September 1998, below forecasts as overseas rivals lured car buyers. DaimlerChrysler, the third-largest automaker in the United States, said sales including Mercedes-Benz increased 7.4 percent, in line with estimates.

The U.S. Transportation Department made some of the most far-reaching changes to its fuel economy standards in the 27-year history of the program yesterday - adopting rules that will raise mileage requirements for minivans, SUVs and some pickup trucks. But environmental groups expressed disappointment at the regulations, contending the Bush administration had missed an opportunity to make meaningful strides toward cleaning the air and meeting the president's stated goal of breaking a national "addiction" to imported oil. The new rules, which will apply to 2008-to-2011 vehicles, raise the average mileage requirements for the vehicles from the current 21.6 miles per gallon to 24.1 mpg by 2011 in annual steps.

DETROIT -- General Motors Corp., the world's largest automaker, said yesterday that its U.S. sales of cars and light trucks rose 18 percent in February, beating estimates and helping push industrywide sales up 13 percent to a record for the month.GM's results included gains of 20 percent for cars and 15 percent for light trucks.The report from the largest U.S. automaker came after reports of February increases of 8.8 percent for Ford Motor Co. and 7.7 percent for DaimlerChrysler AG, and 19 percent gains for Toyota Motor Corp.

Sales of new cars and light trucks in Maryland shot up 15.1 percent last month, well above the national level, according to figures released yesterday by the state Motor Vehicle Administration. It was the 20th consecutive month in which sales were higher than in the corresponding period of the previous year. "We are the benefactors of a good, strong economy," said Chuck Boyle, chairman of the Maryland New Car and Truck Dealers Association, which represents the majority of the state's 350 new-car dealerships.

New-car sales continued to roll along at a robust pace in Maryland in March, according to figures released yesterday by the state Motor Vehicle Administration. State motorists bought 34,225 new cars and light trucks during March, a gain of 3.2 percent when compared with sales during March last year. The 3.2 percent increase in new-vehicle sales in Maryland compares with a 5.1 percent decline in sales nationwide. It marked the sixth consecutive month in which vehicle sales in Maryland were higher than during the corresponding period of the previous year.

Maybe it's $3 per gallon gasoline. Or global warming. Or Democrats in charge of Congress. Or good advice from allies. Most likely, the decision by automakers to support a modest increase in fuel efficiency standards for the first time can be attributed to all of the above. It's a defensive strategy aimed at heading off a more ambitious proposal, which is the centerpiece of an energy bill that Senate leaders hope will win approval in that chamber by the end of the month. One of the tactic's targets is Maryland Democrat Barbara A. Mikulski, who has been sympathetic to industry warnings that tougher fuel standards would cost jobs.

WASHINGTON -- In a sign of congressional concern over near record-high gasoline prices and global warming, a Senate committee approved yesterday legislation calling for the most significant increase in vehicle fuel efficiency in decades. The measure would boost the fleet-wide average fuel economy standards by 40 percent, from the current 25 miles per gallon to 35 mpg, by 2020. It now goes to the Senate, where a similar measure was defeated two years ago after heavy lobbying by automakers.

Storming along as if powered by a muscle-car engine perfected by its Detroit-area competitors, Toyota Motor Corp. surged into the top three in U.S. auto sales for 2006. In doing so, it blasted past Chrysler Group to end the year with a 12.5 percent annual sales gain. Toyota's advance - a foregone conclusion after many months of finishing ahead of Chrysler - brought a symbolic end to the domestic automakers' grouping as the Big Three. The Japanese company, riding high on the sales of fuel-efficient cars and small trucks, is on track to overtake Ford in U.S. sales this year.

The U.S. Transportation Department made some of the most far-reaching changes to its fuel economy standards in the 27-year history of the program yesterday - adopting rules that will raise mileage requirements for minivans, SUVs and some pickup trucks. But environmental groups expressed disappointment at the regulations, contending the Bush administration had missed an opportunity to make meaningful strides toward cleaning the air and meeting the president's stated goal of breaking a national "addiction" to imported oil. The new rules, which will apply to 2008-to-2011 vehicles, raise the average mileage requirements for the vehicles from the current 21.6 miles per gallon to 24.1 mpg by 2011 in annual steps.

DETROIT - Depending upon whom you talk to, auto sales in January were a flop or just shoulder-shrugging OK. In either case, it wasn't a sizzling start to the new year. January is typically the worst month for selling new cars and trucks in the United States, largely because it is cold in most of the country and many customers would rather be nestling indoors than braving frosty dealer lots. What's more, December is always a tough act to follow. Automakers typically roll out such blowout year-end deals that they pull many customers into the market early.

Maryland consumers tightened their purse strings last month and bought 17.3 percent fewer new cars and light trucks than during November last year, according to figures released yesterday by the state Motor Vehicle Administration. Last month's sharp decline does not accurately reflect the health of Maryland's auto industry or the state's economy, according to auto officials and at least one economist. November was actually better than the numbers imply, said John Miller, a partner in Miller Brothers Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Ford and Cadillac in Ellicott City and a director of the Maryland New Car and Truck Dealers Association.

General Motors Corp. yesterday reported a 2 percent decline in first-quarter earnings, which was considerably better than analysts expected. Thanks in part to the record pace of U. S. car and light truck sales during the three months that ended March 31, the world's largest automaker posted a profit of $1.78 billion. This is down from $1.82 billion in the first quarter of 1999. On a per-share basis, earnings amounted to $2.80, up from $2.66 in the year-earlier period. Earnings per share rose because GM had 4.5 percent fewer shares outstanding during the quarter that just ended because of stock buybacks.

General Motors Shares fell $2.48, or 8.5 percent, to $26.79, the biggest drop in more than two years on concerns that 2008 industry sales may slide and the U.S. may adopt tougher fuel-economy standards for light trucks.

JUST WHEN things are looking bleak on the environmental protection front comes word that the Bush administration is thinking green about cars. A proposal to impose tougher fuel-efficiency standards on SUVs and other light trucks is reported to be actively under consideration in a White House led by Texas oil men and the former top lobbyist for the Big Three automakers. If they approve, it would be the first government-ordered increase since 1996. Environmentalists complain it's too small, mostly a political gesture to create the appearance of bold action where there is none.

Do I favor restrictions or taxes on large vehicles such as SUVs to promote fuel efficiency and limit emissions? Well, maybe. But isn't it time we put the blame on the real culprit? Constant harping at SUVs and light trucks is a bit like blaming global warming on barbecue grills and lawn mowers. The real culprit is the American lifestyle and our energy-driven economy. Go to your local supermarket and count the products shipped and trucked thousands of miles daily from around the world.