Auto experts say buyers need more education on fuel economy – CNNMoney.com
NEW YORK (Associated Press) – Automakers need to form some consensus on the technology they will use to improve fuel economy _ whether it’s diesels, hybrids, electric vehicles or hydrogen fuel cells _ and do a better of explaining those options if they want consumers to buy in, auto industry experts said Wednesday at a conference for engineers. The government also needs to consider more tax credits for fuel-efficient vehicles, carbon taxes to penalize gas-guzzlers, and mandates to promote cleaner fuels such as ethanol, which are some of the approaches that have successfully changed consumers’ driving habits in Europe, according to Scott Bailey, vice president of powertrain systems at auto supplier Delphi Corp. Miller said consumers rate manufacturers lower now than they did in 2002 on how well they’re doing at improving fuel economy, despite a rash of new hybrids and diesels on the market and test fleets of electric and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Intraday data provided by ComStock , an Interactive Data Company and subject to the Terms of Use . read more
[Tags]consumers, data, , provided, automakers, fuel, fuel economy[/Tags]