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Strategies & Market Trends : ScottOnStocks.com-2001 -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Smiling Bob who wrote (227)	5/18/2006 1:40:24 PM
From: Smiling Bob	Respond to of 231

Big 3 Automakers Seek Capitol Hill Support Thursday May 18, 11:52 am ET By Ken Thomas, Associated Press Writer Leaders of Big 3 Automakers Holding Closed-Door Meetings on Capitol Hill WASHINGTON (AP) -- Leaders of the Big Three U.S. automakers rode to Capitol Hill in ethanol-powered vehicles Thursday to seek lawmakers' support on issues including energy policies, health care and competition from foreign cars. General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner, Ford Motor Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Bill Ford, and Tom LaSorda, president and CEO of DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group, were holding a series of closed-door meetings with congressional leaders. Auto industry officials said the meetings would center on energy issues such as making ethanol fuels more widely available, the industry's challenges in meeting rising health care costs, trade issues and the need for more alternative fuel vehicles. "We hope to have some good dialogue about the energy policies of the United States," Ford said outside the Capitol after stepping out of an F-series pickup truck. The Big Three executives arrived in vehicles powered by ethanol, decorated with images of corn stalks, to underscore their commitment to alternative fuels. Domestic automakers have ramped up production of flexible fuel vehicles, capable of running on gasoline and fuel blends of up to 85 percent ethanol. But one of the obstacles is finding pumps that offer ethanol -- industry officials estimate that about 685 of the 165,000 fueling stations across the country offer ethanol blends, less than 1 percent of the stations. The auto executives plan to meet in June with President Bush to talk about issues affecting the industry. A White House meeting tentatively planned for Thursday was postponed because Bush is traveling to Arizona to discuss border security and immigration. With some consumers paying $3 and beyond for a gallon of gasoline, Bush has sought an increase in the availability of ethanol and alternative fuels, more research for hybrid vehicle batteries and elimination of the cap on tax credits for the purchase of hybrids. The Bush administration has also asked Congress to give it the authority to change fuel economy rules for passenger cars, a move that could lead to higher gas mileage requirements. The measure is expected to reach the House floor in the coming weeks. The meeting comes at a challenging time for the domestic automakers. GM and Ford are executing major restructuring plans that would cut a combined 60,000 jobs and close more than two dozen plants by 2012. GM, meanwhile, has stockpiled parts in case workers at auto supplier Delphi Corp. go on strike. Delphi, GM's former parts division and largest supplier, has asked a judge for permission to cancel its labor contracts. The United Auto Workers and other unions have threatened to strike if those contracts are thrown out. U.S. automakers have stressed that they do not want a federal bailout, similar to the move by Congress in 1979 to rescue the former Chrysler Corp. Supporters of the U.S. auto industry in Congress say the industry faces many competitive disadvantages against foreign manufacturers, such as Toyota Motor Corp., on issues such as trade and health care.