Auto show buzz is fuel economy - Louisville Courier-Journal

DETROIT — Amid the blasting music and flashing lights of press conferences opening the North American International Auto Show yesterday, the buzz was about fuel efficiency and the environment even as the sales outlook for this year remains uncertain, given the slumping U. Honda chief executive officer Takeo Fukui said new technologies including hybrid electric engines, a clean diesel engine and, ultimately, fuel cells will “achieve something important for the future of life on this earth. Ford assembles F-Series Super Duty trucks at the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville and Explorer sport utility vehicles at the Louisville Assembly Plant. A concept for a new Explorer, called “Explorer America,” zoomed up a ramp at the show yesterday as Ford marketing chief Jim Farley extolled the virtues of EcoBoost. As a result, sales of all vehicle segments fell in 2007, except for crossover sport utility vehicles, which were up 17 percent, said McAlinden, vice president of the Center for Automotive Research, a think tank based in Ann Arbor, Mich. At the end of his remarks in the Cobo Hall Arena, Mulally praised United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger, past president of UAW Local 862 in Louisville, as crucial to the success of the contract ratified last fall. read more

[Tags]ford, engine, percent, auto, ecoboost, explorer, fuel economy[/Tags]

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