
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 21, 1991                   TAG: 9103210568
SECTION: NATL/INTL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: By Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

AUTOMAKERS URGE HIGHER GASOLINE PRICES/

The price of gasoline has to increase sharply if significant oil savings are to be achieved from automobiles, the nation's automakers contend. Building more fuel-efficient vehicles won't do the job, they say.

"Higher [fuel economy] standards in an era of cheap gasoline is self-defeating policy," Ronald Bolz, vice president for product strategy for Chrysler Corp., told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday.

Peter Pestillo, a vice president at Ford Motor Co., took a similar view, arguing that as long as gasoline is cheap, consumers will refuse to buy fuel-efficient automobiles that may be more expensive and smaller.

New engine technology may add $200 to $400 to the cost of a car and improve fuel efficiency by 3 percent, Pestillo said. "At today's gasoline prices it would take 10 to 20 years of fuel savings for the customer to recoup the initial investment."

The testimony came a day after the Senate Commerce Committee approved legislation that would require automakers to improve the average fuel economy of their new-car fleets by 40 percent to 40 miles per gallon by the year 2001.

Today's cars attain an average of about 27.5 mpg.

by CNB