By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
June 23, 2007
WASHINGTON — The cars, SUVS and pickups people will buy in the years ahead are likely to use less fuel, and many will rely on ethanol or household electricity instead of gasoline.
The energy legislation pushed through the Senate this week provides a road map to the future, demanding higher automobile fuel economy, mandating huge increases in ethanol as a motor fuel and supporting more research into building “plug-in” hybrid-electric vehicles.
While Senate Republicans complained that the bill does nothing to increase domestic oil production, Democrats said that’s because the nation must move energy policy away from its heavy reliance on oil.
The Senate bill requires automakers to increase fuel economy to 35 mpg, about a 40 percent increase over what cars, SUVs and small trucks are required to achieve now.
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