The Homa Files

Excerpted from Washington Post, “Congress in the Driver’s Seat”, by Kimberly Kindy and Kendra Marr, February 4, 2009

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It is the end of an era — one in which automakers ruled Congress, easily deflected pressure to build fuel-efficient cars and packed their trademark shows with super-size SUVs perched on fake mountaintops.

There has been a gradual erosion of the auto industry’s clout in Washington and in state legislatures.

President Obama’s move last week to support strict California vehicle emission standards was another blow to the industry, already reeling from financial pressures and dismal sales.

For decades, Congressional advocates protected the industry from demands for more fuel-efficient vehicles, while sophisticated and expensive lobbying and legal strategies — some taxpayer-funded — also helped the carmakers fight off challenges.

But that kind of rock-solid support in Congress has worn away, as many members say they have been repeatedly misled by the companies’ promises of reform and complaints that new initiatives would spell financial ruin.

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In Washington, the auto industry spent $65 million last year to lobby Congress, ranking 16th among all industries, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Its efforts largely focused on developing a national fuel economy and emissions standard weaker than the one proposed by California.

Industry leaders continue to argue that Congress is trying to force them to build cars Americans don’t want, at least as long as gas prices remain low.

They are asking Congress to pass laws that will spur consumers to buy such vehicles. Industry leaders said drivers in Europe are willing to own smaller cars because gas costs so much more there. Without such incentives, “it puts us in the industry in the position where we are at war with the customer.”

Regardless, some trade groups acknowledge that the landscape has changed, and they are promising to work more cooperatively.

“Has the industry lost its power to say no?” asked the president of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. “The industry is saying, ‘Yes, however. . . . Yes, let’s work it out.’ It’s a different starting point in the discussion. The nature of the industry has changed.”

Edit by DAF

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Full article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/03/AR2009020303960_pf.html

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This entry was posted on February 18, 2009 at 7:00 am and is filed under Autos - Travel, Government & Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.