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Article: U.S. headed for collision on fuel efficiency: Demand for big vehicles drives Detroit toward noncompliance.(A)
- Article from:
- The Washington Times (Washington, DC)
- Article date:
- May 24, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 News World Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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For the millions of people who will pack up a Jeep Cherokee or Ford Explorer and head out for Memorial Day weekend today, gas mileage probably isn't a high priority.
Both models usually get less than 20 miles per gallon.
But gas mileage is on the minds of the Big Three automakers these days. More than two decades after the first oil crisis, Americans' appetite for big, powerful vehicles is putting Detroit on a collision course with the government fuel-efficiency standards set in the 1970s.
"It's making it more difficult for the companies to comply," said Al Slechter, a lobbyist and technical adviser at Chrysler Corp. "If the numbers go up, ...