High mileage car dead, FreedomCAR in

By: Drivers.com staff

Date: 2002-01-21

The U.S. Secretary of Energy, Spencer Abraham, announced at the Detroit Auto Show that $1.5 billion will be earmarked for a program called Freedom CAR (Cooperative Automotive Research), which was developed by DaimlerChrysler Corporation , Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation, the U.S. Department of Energy and the big 3 manufacturers' joint initiative: U.S. Council for Automotive Research . FreedomCAR will replace the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles, which had tried to come up with 80-mpg family sedans by 2004.

According to a statement from Abraham, the vision of FreedomCAR is petroleum-free cars and light trucks. "The program will focus on the high-risk research needed to develop enabling technologies (e.g., fuel cells, the ability to produce hydrogen from domestic renewable sources, etc.) without sacrificing freedom of mobility, freedom of vehicle choice, or affordability."

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