This …
Bush met with General Motors Corp. chairman and chief executive Rick Wagoner, Ford Motor Co. chief executive Alan Mulally and DaimlerChrysler AG’s Chrysler Group chief executive Tom LaSorda. They discussed Bush’s support for flex-fuel vehicles and his administration’s proposal to reduce gas consumption by 20 percent in 10 years.
The three auto executives reiterated their commitment to double their production of flexible fuel vehicles to about 2 million a year by 2010.
Automakers said they could make half of their cars and trucks capable of running on alternative fuels by 2012 if there is enough availability and distribution of E85, an ethanol blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
“This makes a big difference,” Wagoner said. “There’s nothing that can be done that can reduce the curb of growth of imported oil, and actually turn it down, like using E85.”
… gets you this:
The government issues a report this week that is likely to show one of the most dramatic shifts in U.S. crop acreage in memory.
The Agriculture Department report, based on a survey of farmers, likely will show growers are going to plant more acres to corn this year than they have since Harry Truman was president – and significantly fewer acres to cotton, soybeans, wheat and other crops.
Meanwhile, a plaintive voice:
Environmental groups said the focus on ethanol blends would undermine attempts to push automakers to make more fuel efficient cars.
Yeah, but where’s the big-money constituency for that?
