Chuck
02-20-2008, 11:11 AM
It was actually GM's initiative to introduce catayltic converters in 1975 (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120338446532575863.html?mod=googlenews_wsj)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/gm_ford_chrysler_copy.jpgPaul Ingrassia - Wall Steet Journal - Feb 19, 2008
Yes, Detroit has made honest efforts, but they don't seem that frequent - Ed
"Our cities have been straining at their seams," declares a full-page newspaper automotive advertisement. "Traffic is jam-packed. Parking space is at a premium. And our suburbs have spread like wildfire. People are living farther from their work, driving more miles on crowded streets."
Were these words touting a new, fuel-efficient small car, such as the Toyota Prius or maybe the tiny Smart Fortwo? Not exactly. They appeared in newspapers across America on Sept. 27, 1959. The ad -- preserved in the National Automotive History Collection archives at the Detroit Public Library -- came from the Chevrolet division of General Motors, which was heralding a revolutionary new compact called the Corvair. If nothing else, it proves that the quest for small, practical, fuel-efficient and non-polluting cars isn't exactly new.
But now, with gasoline over $3 a gallon, this effort is gaining new urgency. You know things are changing when Automobile magazine, a lover of all things fast and fuel-thirsty, puts the battery-powered Tesla roadster -- produced by a Silicon Valley startup company -- on its cover. The Tesla, which is just now going on sale, surges from zero to 60 miles an hour in a neck-snapping 4.7 seconds, about the same as the fastest Corvette. In this atmosphere, it's useful to glean some lessons from a half century of efforts to revolutionize the automobile...http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120338446532575863.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/gm_ford_chrysler_copy.jpgPaul Ingrassia - Wall Steet Journal - Feb 19, 2008
Yes, Detroit has made honest efforts, but they don't seem that frequent - Ed
"Our cities have been straining at their seams," declares a full-page newspaper automotive advertisement. "Traffic is jam-packed. Parking space is at a premium. And our suburbs have spread like wildfire. People are living farther from their work, driving more miles on crowded streets."
Were these words touting a new, fuel-efficient small car, such as the Toyota Prius or maybe the tiny Smart Fortwo? Not exactly. They appeared in newspapers across America on Sept. 27, 1959. The ad -- preserved in the National Automotive History Collection archives at the Detroit Public Library -- came from the Chevrolet division of General Motors, which was heralding a revolutionary new compact called the Corvair. If nothing else, it proves that the quest for small, practical, fuel-efficient and non-polluting cars isn't exactly new.
But now, with gasoline over $3 a gallon, this effort is gaining new urgency. You know things are changing when Automobile magazine, a lover of all things fast and fuel-thirsty, puts the battery-powered Tesla roadster -- produced by a Silicon Valley startup company -- on its cover. The Tesla, which is just now going on sale, surges from zero to 60 miles an hour in a neck-snapping 4.7 seconds, about the same as the fastest Corvette. In this atmosphere, it's useful to glean some lessons from a half century of efforts to revolutionize the automobile...http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120338446532575863.html?mod=googlenews_wsj