Calif. Buckles on Zero Emissions

Three big automakers and several auto dealers dropped a lawsuit on Tuesday that had delayed California's clean-air program, saying changes in the regulations would allow them to cut tailpipe emissions by selling a wider range of vehicles than just electric cars.

General Motors, DaimlerChrysler and Isuzu Motors said in a joint statement that the changes make it more practical to comply with the regulations.

In addition to electric cars, automakers will now get credit for sales of vehicles fueled by hydrogen fuel cells and for hybrids, which boost miles per gallon by using electric engines in addition to gasoline engines.

"We don't agree with the concept of mandated approaches in automotive technology. But we do agree that the modified 2003 zero-emission vehicle regulation may provide the flexibility that we need and were looking for," GM spokesman David Barthmuss said.

The California Air Resources Board, or CARB, designed a program in the early 1990s to force automakers to sell a certain number of non-polluting electric cars or trucks, termed zero-emissions vehicles by the industry.

Last year, several automakers and dealers won an injunction in federal court delaying the mandate until 2005.

Under the new rules, car makers will have to deliver at least 250 fuel cell vehicles or larger numbers of battery-powered vehicles by 2008. The target rises to 27,500 by 2014, according to the air resources board spokesman.

The program also calls for the industry to provide a percentage of low-pollution vehicles, such as hybrids, by 2010 based on automakers' sales in California.

CARB chairman Alan Lloyd said in a statement that the agreement will help free resources both within the California agency and in the automotive industry to work on advanced technology, including fuel cells, "to help us achieve California's goal of a zero emission vehicle fleet."

Still at issue is a California law aimed at reducing tailpipe emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide. Automakers see that effort as an attempt to boost fuel economy standards, which they argue is a right reserved for Congress. Recent efforts to raise fuel economy standards in Congress have failed.

"The fact that they're backing away on the lawsuit, I think it's optimistic to say that they're embracing a robust environmental stance," said Jim Kliesch, a research associate with the non-profit American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy and co-author of The Environmental Guide to Cars and Trucks.

California's forthcoming rules governing tailpipe greenhouse gases will be a contentious issue for the industry, he said. "Fuel economy is something that hasn't changed in vehicles for the last couple decades. It's something that needs to be addressed."