The opening round of congressional hearings this year on global warming and alternative fuels showed one fact is clear: The climate for automakers on Capitol Hill is becoming increasingly unforgiving.
While General Motors Corp. asked Congress on Tuesday to dramatically increase federal support for the development of advanced powertrain technologies, it faced skepticism from lawmakers clamoring for tougher fuel economy mandates.
Momentum is building in Washington to force automakers to markedly improve the fuel efficiency of their vehicles -- a requirement that could cost them billions of dollars by forcing them to produce smaller cars and more hybrids, or even drop out of some market segments.
President Bush proposed in his State of the Union address that automakers improve the efficiency of vehicles an average of 4 percent per year beginning in 2009 for passenger cars and 2011 for light trucks. Bush wants to cut gas consumption 20 percent by 2017.
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