"Automakers are already building cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles, and every single auto sold in California is approved by the State of California before it goes to the dealer's lot," the Alliance said in a statement a day after the filing of the lawsuit, the first aimed holding the industry responsible for global warming.

"Today's autos are 99 percent cleaner than a generation ago," it added. "Automakers are now selling more than 45 models of alternative fuel autos, including hybrids, ethanol-capable vehicles and clean diesel autos, and many more models are in development for future introduction."

California's attorney general on Wednesday said the federal government and automakers had failed to act in response to the crisis of global warming which is fueled by vehicle emissions.

"Global warming is causing significant harm to California's environment, economy, agriculture and public health. The impacts are already costing millions of dollars, and the price tag is increasing," Attorney General Bill Lockyer said.

The US Chamber of Commerce on Thursday accused Lockyer of filing the suit for his own political gain.

"The election year decision to file a lawsuit against automobile manufacturers for causing global warming by a politician seeking office is a classic case of overreaching by a state attorney general," US Chamber Institute for Legal Reform President Lisa Rickard said in a statement.

"At a time when the industry is looking for ways to cut emissions and promote alternative fuels, to single out the automobile companies for legal action in this way is the epitome of a frivolous lawsuit."

The companies named in the complaint are the Chrysler Motors Corporation, an arm of DaimlerChrysler based in Germany; General Motors Corporation; Ford Motor Company; and the North American subsidiaries of Japanese carmakers Honda Motor, Nissan Motor and Toyota Motor.

These carmakers are "among the world's largest contributors to global warming and the adverse impacts on California," the suit charges.

The suit is the first of its kind seeking to hold manufacturers liable for damages allegedly caused by greenhouse gases produced by their vehicles.

California, the richest and most populous US state, has more than 35 million people and some 32 million registered vehicles. The biggest metropolitan area, Los Angeles, usually tops the list of the most polluted US cities.

Authorities in California, led by Republican actor-turned-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, have broken with US President George W. Bush on environmental issues. Schwarzenegger has said he will sign greenhouse gas-reducing legislation making California the first US state to commit to adhering to the Kyoto Protocol.

The Kyoto Protocol sets out measures for tackling greenhouse gas pollution.

The governor was set to sign this month a landmark bill to cap greenhouse gas emissions, making California the first US state to limit carbon dioxide and other gases accused of contributing to global warming.

earlier related report
Toyota winning race to be greenest automaker in US
Detroit, Michigan (AFP) Sep 21, 2006 Ford brought in Kermit the Frog to show that it is "green." GM is touting its ethanol-powered trucks. Honda has the best offerings. But when Americans think of environmentally friendly vehicles, they think of Japan's Toyota.

"There's that perception, and it's something that's uniquely American," said Anthony Pratt, a researcher for the automotive consumer resource J.D. Power and Associates, who noted that Europeans look to diesel for fuel economy.

"The Toyota Prius hybrid came out just when gas prices started to increase. That got promotion from Hollywood, when you have people pulling up to award shows in them," he explained. "Then it becomes part of (comedian) Jay Leno's monologue, it becomes part of our pop culture. It becomes, 'Isn't that the car (Leonardo) DiCaprio drives? Then it's good enough for me.'"

In recent years automakers have expressed growing concern for issues such as global warming and smog-forming pollutants. But the race to be greenest is the race for the green -- dollars, that is.

More and more US car buyers are looking for fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles.

Among those who expect to buy a new vehicle within the next two years, 57 percent are mulling a gas-electric hybrid, 49 percent a flex-fuel ethanol-powered vehicle, compared with only 12 percent looking at a diesel-fueled vehicle, according to a recent J.D. Power and Associates study.

The study forecasts that hybrids, which represented 1.2 percent of the US market last year, are expected to increase to 1.6 percent this year and 5.0 percent by 2013. Sales of diesel vehicles likely will rise from 3.2 percent to 9.0 percent within the next seven years.

There is also now the threat of potential legal costs pushing the green agenda. On Wednesday, California announced that it had filed a civil suit against GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda and Nissan for their alleged contribution to global warming, a first such legal fight in the United States.

Volkswagen, with its US model line free of gasoline-guzzling trucks and sports utility vehicles, is the best-ranked nameplate in JD Power's Automotive Environmental Index, a combined analysis of tailpipe pollutants, greenhouse gases, Environmental Protection Agency fuel-economy ratings and consumer opinion.

Honda has the most fuel-efficient fleet. It was the first automaker to introduce a hybrid into the US market; the Civic hybrid was the first such version of a conventional vehicle. Honda also sells the only compressed natural gas-fueled vehicles available to consumers.

But it is Toyota that seems greenest.

"The average person will say Toyota, in part because it was able to tap into a perfect storm," said David Friedman, research director of University of Concerned Scientists' (UCS) Clean Vehicles Program.

"Honda had the Insight, but it was a niche-market vehicle. And to many people the Civic hybrid was just another Civic, which is a good, high-quality vehicle, but not really revolutionary in terms of image. The Prius was unique," he said.

Experts agree that Ford Motor Co., the Chrysler Group and General Motors Corp. have poorer images when it comes to green products, mostly because they dominate the full-size sport-utility and truck segments.

Ford caught tonnes of flak for going back on plans to build 250,000 hybrids, despite other major environmental initiatives like its membership in the Chicago Climate Exchange, a greenhouse gas-reduction program, and advances in hybrid technology.

GM and Chrysler have taken steps to improve fuel economy, but have not earned much credit. Both companies market energy-saving V8 engines.

Detroit's Big Three automakers plan to more than double production of vehicles capable of running on renewable fuels, to two million by 2010. GM's Saturn will introduce the Aura Green Line hybrid, which will join the Vue Green Line. GM Chairman Bob Lutz has said hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles could hit showrooms as early as 2010.

But perception is reality, so auto companies have stepped up their marketing campaigns. DaimlerChrysler Chairman Dieter Zetsche was recently featured in a blitz of TV and radio spots, talking up diesels and "clean" technology.

Popular Sesame Street Muppet character Kermit the Frog was employed earlier this year as a shill for Ford, while GM has launched a "Live Green Go Yellow" campaign to raise awareness about energy-savings already found on its 1.5 million vehicles in the market.

Experts say automakers need to do a better job educating car buyers. Otherwise, the race to be green could leave consumers feeling blue.

"By numbers, Honda's greenest, Toyota's got the image," said UCS's Steadman. "The reality is, they all have a long way to go."

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