Turbochargers, direct fuel injection, smaller engines along with the two mode hybrid SUV's. That's the future according to Jim Press. Camry mileage eh!
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December 19 2007 - 8:36AM
By Mike Ellis
Jim Press, Chrysler Vice Chairman and President, speaks to reporters about the Energy Bill
The U.S. Congress on Tuesday passed the Energy Bill, which includes a 40 percent hike in fuel economy standards.
We caught Jim Press, Chrysler Vice Chairman and President, and got his thoughts on the new standards calling for cars and trucks to average 35 miles per gallon by 2020.
Press congratulated Congress and the Bush administration for supporting the new standards.
“We’re very pleased,” Press said. “We commend Congress and we support the Administration signing the bill. We’re committing to meeting fuel economy standards, improving the energy efficiency of our products. We’re very proud to do our part to satisfy customers’ desires and the nation’s need to reduce greenhouse gas and reduce the country’s reliance on foreign oil.”
“The thing that I like about this is that we now know what the rules are of the game,” he said. “Each manufacturer will be able to play its hand in its unique way. From our perspective, it’s a great opportunity because we’re in the best position to marry technology and not make people make sacrifices or compromises on the product they want. You want a full-size SUV, then here, you got a two-mode hybrid with cylinder activation. Full-size SUV gets gas mileage about like a Camry. So you can get a large vehicle and it still has the footprint of a smaller product. You start thinking that way, you can provide performance, you can provide style and design, utilization.”
Press said a single federal regulation on fuel economy is important to keep vehicles affordable.
“It’s really important to try and drive towards a single federal regulation,” he said. “If you have to build a separate car for every state, the engineering and development and certification and the different specs really becomes onerous. We all share the same air. The cars drive from state to state. It’s so much better to have one federal standard that is utilized, that meets the needs of everyone.”
Q - Do you think that reducing the size of some vehicles, as you look at the total fleet, does that mean more vehicles with smaller engines, or can you get there with just technological improvements?
“We’re going to have to use smaller powerplants, but that doesn’t mean they have to be less powerful. They can be more efficient using turbochargers and direct injection and other advanced technology, multi valve. We have as you know in our vehicles, we have cylinder deactivation which is a very positive impact. And so, I think that the key will be the company that can innovate and produce the kinds of vehicles customers want, that also give them the responsible energy footprint. Anybody can make a small car, and they can make a small appliance. But we have design expertise and engineering. Our full-size SUVs will have a two-mode hybrid system with cylinder deactivation. So they’ll have great mileage. They’ll have mileage kind of like a Camry in a full-size SUV, so you don’t have to sacrifice to get a smaller vehicle. Our technology and our innovation can give you both.”
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Bernie