186 The Environmental Debate
more research, more technical contributions—
than any other auto company, anywhere.
In emissions and fuel-efficiency, our fac-
tories and our vehicles have made enormous
strides—here and around the world. Just com-
pare today’s cars and trucks with those of
1970, the year of the first Earth Day. Today’s
vehicles have been downsized and built with
lighter-weight materials—so their average
weight is down by 27%. We’ve converted most
of them to front-wheel-drive, improved their
aerodynamic efficiency by one-third, and set
new specifications that cut the rolling resist-
ance of our tires by half. We’ve reduced fric-
tion between parts, and put in more efficient
transmissions and air-conditioning, as well
as electronically-controlled, fuel-efficient
engines. All of this—and more—has increased
the fuel economy of GM cars, since the mid-
70’s, by 130%. And since clean air became
a national goal, we’ve made big reductions
in the exhaust emissions from our cars and
trucks: nitrogen oxides are down by 76%,
and hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide are
down by 96%. That’s due in large part to the
catalytic converter—a GM invention that The
Washington Post recently called “the nation’s
most powerful weapon against urban smog.”
We started putting them into our 1975 cars,
and just a few days ago we marked the manu-
facture of 100 million of them.
* * *
Another promising approach is the electric-
powered car, which, I’m convinced, will play an
important role in meeting our country’s trans-
portation needs and environmental goals. At the
beginning of this year, General Motors intro-
duced the Impact, a prototype electric car, to
the public. It’s the latest step in our continuing
program to develop electric cars for personal
transportation.... [O]ur goal is to be the first
automobile company to mass-produce a mod-
ern, electric car. And not just any electric car,
but one that’s as safe as any vehicle on the road
today, that has a range and cost that consumers
will find appealing, and that performs as well as
current internal combustion engine vehicles.Source: Roger B. Smith, “Industry and the Environment:
New Directions for the 90s,” address to the National Press
Club, Washington, D.C., April 18, 1990. GM Business
Research Library, Detroit, MI.