Newspaper Page Text
Gas guzzlers making comehback
with utilities, vans, pickups
By H. Josef Herbert
ABSOCIATED PRESS Writer
: WASHINGTON
When Elizabeth Stout, a nurse
in.suburban Maryland, went to
trade in her Nissan Maxima, she
dfic_ided she wanted something
dyferent after five sedans in 20
years.
:.%he got it: a loaded, VB-pow
ergd Ford Explorer, a sports util
ity;yehicle complete with leather
seats, automatic transmission
apd a sticker price close to
$30,000.
~dhave a dog, my boyfriend has
a.dog, and we take a lot of road
trips,” she said. The Explorer is
pegfect, she said: the roominess,
the zip in the engine, the four
wheel drive that will get her to
work this winter even in several
feat; of snow.
-Did anyone say gas mileage?
““It’s not a big deal to me,” she
said on being reminded that the
Explorer, and the other utility
vehicles are hogs for fuel: 14 mpg
imgity driving, maybe 18 on the
fchway. Her Maxima cruised
@bng the open road at 28 mpg or
=s the Environmental Protec
'" n Agency releases its annual
aatomobile fuel economy find
mes for 1997 vehicles, it’s clear
tigat the drive toward greater
itk efficiencies is on hold—mov
[ backwards, say fuel conser-
FAtton advocates.
| ®he rush to sports utilities,
filivans and pickups, as well as
gher speed limits, is as much of
dnfexplanation as any, says au
fdfibtive and fuel economy ex
jels. This summer’s surge in
gafßline prices has done nothing
i dampen motorists’love for gas
Shzzlers.
| Nowhere is that more evident
fhan in the craze for sports util
ity vehicles, or SUVs. Officially
Blagsified as light trucks, SUVs,
mmivans and pickups are under
: i a.stringent government fuel-
Bronomy rules.
3{~* it's the hottest, most profit
pigle segment of the industry,”
B Steve Kosowski, an analyst
Echool bus safety
saves lives
- 3 About 22 million students ride
Bthool buses daily, and about 60
4 ercent of them are of elementa
&Y school age. Because they are
Blich an everyday part of life for
#0 many young children, parents
May not realize how dangerous
they can be. But if you under
i and the dangers associated
®ith school buses, you can “bus-
Proof” your child, preparing her
g‘_- school year of safe rides,
#@c¢ording ,to Beth Strickland,
director of SAFE Kids of Georgia
b etdquartered at Egleston Chil
@ren’s Hospital at Emory Uni
¥ egity in Atlanta, Georgia.
% ®Some children are injured or
Hilled every year while riding in
gchool buses, and many more are
#hjgred or killed while waiting at
i ‘;tops,” said Mrs. Strickland.
#WMost injuries occur when chil
gren are boarding or exiting the
Bus. Usually, that’s due to the
Blind spot which extends about
20 feet in front of a bus, blocking
she view of the driver.”.
& Mrs. Strickland recommends
that parents follow these guide
ines to bus-proof their children:
2t If your child is under age
Bght, an adult or much older
ghild should walk her to and from
3 bus stop and supervise her as
@E-boards and exits the bus.
Dems charge fraud
fom page three
“We’re once again finding ques
onable behavior in the reports
nd actions of Congressman
orwood’s campaign committee,”
ri Anthony said in a prepared
tement.
The complaint was mailed Oct.
Federal Election Commis
x (FEC) offices in Washing
The CSRA Classic is coming!
Watch for October 19, 1996.
with the California-based con
sulting firm AutoPacificlnc. “The
industry’s response has been,
‘Let’s build more.”
Industry figures show the so
called “light trucks” now account
for 43 percent of vehicle sales in
the United States. Sales of SUVs
alone are expected to total 2 mil
lion this year, double the num
ber just four years ago.
The growing popularity, along
with rising speed limits in every
state, has some environmental
ists and fuel-economy advocates
worried.
“Fuel efficiency trends are stag
nant. Efficiency improvements
have stopped,” said John DeCicco
of the American Council for an
Energy Efficient Economy, a re
search and lobbying firm pro
moting energy conservation.
He said the doubling of the
market share for light trucks—
almost 6 million vehicles ayear—
means Americans are using 14
percent more gasoline even with
outtakingintoaccountincreased
speed limits.
And as motorists use more gas
oline and drive longer distances
at higher speeds, the more the
air is polluted and the more
America will have to depend on
oil imports, said Daniel Becker
of the Sierra Club.
“We’re moving backwards,” he
laments.
According to the Environmen
tal Protection Agency, passen
ger sedans have had a fleet-wide
average of just under 28 mpg
over the past decade. By con
trast, the average fuel economy
for light trucks, including SUVs
and minivans, has been just over
21 mpg.
The fuel efficiency of SUVs,
pickups and minivans is so poor
that if they were subject to the
federal gas-guzzler tax, as are
passenger cars, the owners would
have to pay up on two of every
three; the EPA said in a recent
rhal. 8 T Ll o R |
The agency’s latest fuel effi
ciency rankings of 1997 cars and
trucks show that despite a hand
ful of fuel misers, led by the sub-
-Dressyour bus-riderin clothes
that can be easily seen, especial
ly on dark winter days.
-Seetoit that your child gets to
the bus stop five minutes early.
She’ll be paying less attention to
traffic if she is hurried and wor
ried.
Teach your child:
- Not to approach the bus until
it completely stops when board
ing.
- To walk away from the bus
quickly after exiting and to stay
on the sidewalk until the bus
pulls away.
- To treat the bus as a very big,
unpredictable truck with a driv
er who may not be able to see
them.
- That if they drop something
under or near the bus, they
should leave it until the bus pulls
away and all traffic is clear or
ask the driver permission to pick
up the item.
- To stay seated at all times on
the bus.
- To stay calm; not to throw
objects or shout or distract the
driver.
- To keep their arms and head
inside the bus at all times.
- To allow children at the front
of the bus to exit first.
ton, he said.
John Stone, press secretary for
Congressman Norwood, said
it'’s”perfectly legal” to let some
one else sign the forms. “It was
authorized and approved by the
congressman,” he said.
He also said the press confer
ence was organized to diffuse a
lawsuit against the AFL-CIO for
attempting to disguise anti-
Norwood political commercials
as public information announce
ments.
compact Geo Metro at 44 mpg in
city driving, thereislittle overall
improvement in fuel efficiency
numbers from last year or the
year before. :
And the most fuel-efficient cars
aren’t selling, says Diane Steed.
She is president of the Coalition
for Vehicle Choice, an advocacy
group that opposes federal fuel
economy requirements. She said
the 10 best gas savers accounted
for only about 120,000 sales last
year out of 8 million passenger
cars sold.
What is selling are vehicles like
Ms. Stout’s Explorer, which Ford
touts as the most popular sports
utility vehicle on the road with
400,000 soold last year.
And they’re getting bigger, with
more offering V 8 engines, instead
of the slightly more fuel-efficient
V 6. Ford introduced this year
the larger Expedition, at a stick
er price of $37,000, in competi
tion to General Motors’ jumbo
Tahoe and Suburban models as
well as imports like Britain’s
Land-Rover.
Even luxury car manufactur
ers are scrambling to join the
sports utility market. Lexus of
fers a spruced-up Toyota
Landcruiser, and Mercedes Benz
plansafour-wheel drive “all-pur
pose” vehicle next year.
Gary Riley, salesman at Cen
tury Ford where Ms. Stout
bought her Explorer, said the
vehicles appeal to a wide range
of customers. Firstthey ask about
safety, then performance, last
gasoline use, he said.
David Van Sickle, who reviews
scores of car models annually for
the American Automobile Asso
ciation, said he’s puzzled by the
seemingly universal appeal of the
SUVs.
He admitted to a keeping-up
with-the-Joneses element: “Your
neighbor’s got one, so you have to
have one, too.”
. ..But compared to.sedans, he
said, “They ride hard, handle
badly, cost more, are harder to
maintain and get terrible fuel
economy.”
SR R
S.a.v.a.n.n.a.h Riwv.er S.it.e
' Citizens Advisory Board
, ———
Risk Management & Future Use Subcommittee Meetings
Monday, September 30
6 p.m.
Coastal GA Center
305 MLK Blvd.
Savannah, Ga.
The members of the Savannah River Site (SRS) Citizens Advisory Board would like your help in determining what is
important as they provide input to DOE about the SRS activities to be funded in fiscal year (FY) 1999.
At each of the above meetings, subcommittee members will look at how SRS activities are currently prioritized, discuss
their work on the FY9B budget submittal and begin preliminary work on the criteria and prioritization of FY99 activities.
Please plan to join us at any or all of these meetings as we provide our input into the budget planning and decision
making process for the SRS FY 1999 budget submittal to Congress.
SRS CAB Information: 952-6971, 1-800-249-8155 or via the internet at dawn.haygood@srs.gov
1550
AUGUSTA’S GOSPEL ALIVE
Serving the CSRA with
Soul Stirring Gospel Power
Al Day, Cvery Day !!!!!
14471 Columbia Road, Suite C-2 » Martinez, Georgia 30907
| (706) 854-0440 . Fax: (706) 854-0540 |
Tuesday, October 1
10 a.m.
Hilton Head Town Hall
1 Town Center Court
Hilton Head Island, S.C.
2ak:
) ’ ——
P
SIMOOTHIHITS:
SOO T H B AZZ
WAEG-FM
Tuesday, October 8
6 p.m.
Williston United
Methodist Church
Fellowship Hall
Hwy 39, Springfield Rd.
Williston, S.C.
AUGUSTA FOCUS
Thursday, October 10
6 p.m.
North Augusta
Community Center
101 Brookside Avenue
North Augusta, S.C.
October 3, 1996
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