See bigger picture on fuel

Detroit Free Press: The auto industry plays a role in both global warming and America's debilitating dependence on foreign oil. The industry ought to be a part of the solution to both problems.
But not the only part. Not an unfairly burdened part.
Some folks in Washington seem to think they can address both issues, or at least appear to be addressing them, by simply ordering the car companies to improve mileage. You can't do that in a cost-benefit vacuum.
Had the CAFE -- corporate average fuel economy -- standard been raised incrementally since it was established at 27.5 m.p.g. for passenger cars in 1974, the nation and the domestic auto industry might be in better shape.
On the ropes
Now, two of the three Detroit-based automakers are on the ropes, and anything that imposes at least 114 billion in new costs -- the estimate for the Bush administration plan -- would be a death knell for thousands more jobs. As a practical matter, the industry could also be forced to build product lines that American consumers historically have not wanted to buy.
Washington is too hung up on the simplistic CAFE solution. To truly address environmental and energy issues that do need attention, the government needs to see a bigger picture -- involving the oil industry, auto emissions, new fuels and ways to deliver them, new engines and all the transportation technology that has evolved since 1974. It's easy to beat up on the car companies. It's smarter to find a way to work with them on solutions that involve not just how far a car goes on a gallon of fuel, but also what kind of fuel it is and what kind of vehicle it powers.
Congress is not expected to act on the CAFE proposals until next year. In the meantime, even while fighting off its fierce foreign competition, the auto industry will have to convince its congressional critics that Detroit is not standing still and, on several fronts, expects to be part of the solution.