LOS ANGELES (AP) — General Motors Corp. vice chairman Bob Lutz said Wednesday that support of technology — not congressional intervention — is the best way to wean the company off foreign oil but that GM will comply with the law if Congress raises fuel economy standards.
''We will do anything that anybody tells us. We have the solutions to get there,'' Lutz said. ''It's just, I feel compelled to say, that for the goals that the nation is pursuing — namely less CO2 and independence from foreign oil — it is not the right strategy.''
An energy bill before the U.S. Senate would set a 35-mile-per-gallon average fuel economy requirement for an automaker's fleet by 2020. Automakers support a more modest approach that would require 32 to 35 mpg by 2022.
Lutz spoke after introducing a slew of GM vehicles designed to improve fuel economy, including the hybrid Chevrolet Silverado, which is the first full-size hybrid truck; the subcompact Chevrolet Aveo5, which gets 35 miles per gallon on the highway; and the Chevrolet Volt electric concept car.
Lutz wouldn't say how much GM will charge for the Silverado hybrid, as well as its hybrid sport utility vehicle counterparts, the hybrid Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon. But he said both will cost less than the most expensive versions of those vehicles.
Lutz also said GM will build the subcompact Chevrolet Beat hatchback, which was introduced as a concept in New York earlier this year. The Beat will be built in South Korea. He didn't say when it would go on the market.
Lutz said Chevrolet is aiming to offer the best fuel economy in every vehicle it sells.
''This technology will radically alter the landscape,'' he said.
