Spring Hill plant officials worry over new fuel standards
By JILL CECIL WIERSMA
Inclusion of trucks, SUVs could hurt local facility, manager says
July 27, 2007
SPRING HILL Nobody is going to say they don't want more fuel-efficient cars, said Paul Mitchell, an automobile industry employee for the past 26 years.
But many in Spring Hill, like Mitchell, are worried about what might happen if Congress tightens gas-mileage requirements for vehicles made in 2020 and beyond.
Mitchell is team leader for an engine dress line at General Motors and is one of about 4,000 Spring Hill employees waiting for the plant to restart after it is retooled for a new vehicle. GM isn't describing yet what vehicle will be made there, but most say an SUV or something similar is likely.
"From my perspective, it scares me to death just to think all of this is being proposed," said Mitchell, who has worked at the Spring Hill plant since it opened as Saturn 17 years ago. Before that, he worked in Lansing, Mich.
The Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard was last updated 18 years ago, when it increased the standard to 27.5 miles per gallon for cars and 22.2 mpg for SUVs and small trucks.
The proposed legislation now before the House, and already approved by the Senate, would increase that to a fleet average of 35 mpg by 2020.
"I don't think this is a bad thing to do," Mitchell said. "But for the big three GM, Ford and Chrysler this is just bad timing that will knock them all further down. The industry would just put its arms up and maybe take everything overseas."
In addition to plant employees, the tightened standards could affect an additional 16,000 employees among area suppliers who serve the plant.
"It's the folks like us that feel the brunt of this," Mitchell said. "When you lose people, that's going to have an effect on the community. I think what they should have done is had folks in the labor force sit in on some of these meetings, just so they can explain the full impact of this decision."
'Crossover' vehicle in works
Mike Herron, chairman of the Spring Hill United Auto Workers, said the company isn't against having fuel-economy standards either, but he fears that the proposed law would cripple American automakers if trucks and SUVs are included as proposed.
Spring Hill site manager Harvey Thomas said GM is well on its way to boosting the mileage of its vehicles and has plans in that same time frame to produce cars that get 36 mpg and light trucks that get 30 mpg. But with a fleet average of 33 mpg, GM still would fall short.
"Quite honestly, there's no known technology to do that," he said.
Thomas said GM is spending $1 billion to upgrade facilities at the 17-year-old plant for when it resumes production in fall 2008. That will include the launch of a to-be-announced "crossover" vehicle with higher fuel efficiency.
Thomas said GM also is investing $2 billion in research for more fuel-efficient vehicles independent of the federal fuel standards.
"You've got to give some autonomy to these automotive companies to develop technology," he said.
Phase-out could occur
Thomas said higher fuel standards could mean companies could quit making SUVs and trucks altogether, which they don't want to do because of their popularity.
"We're fearful," Herron said. "We've got enough companies sending jobs overseas. We don't need the American government subsidizing or incentivizing it."
About of a fourth of GM's vehicles use "flex fuel" a mixture of 15 percent gasoline and 85 percent corn-based fuel. There are about 2 million such vehicles on the road now, Thomas said, adding that the Saturn Vue hybrid gets 32 mpg on the highway and boasts the best fuel economy of any SUV.
Thomas and Herron praised Gov. Phil Bredesen for his support of having more fuel stations across Tennessee that sell flex fuel. Right now, there are 32.
GM is also studying hydrogen and fuel-cell vehicles. It plans to launch the Volt, a car that uses gasoline and electricity, by 2010.
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