U.S. President George W. Bush (centre) is joined by U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman (left), and Ford Motor Company Alan Mullally as he plugs electricity into an alternative fuel vehicle on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, last Monday.

WASHINGTON (AP):

President George W. Bush, seeking support for his energy plan, praised domestic automakers last Monday for building more 'flexible fuel' vehicles capable of running on ethanol and biodiesel blends.

"That's a major technological breakthrough for the country," Bush said. "If you want to reduce gasolene usage like I believe we need to do so for national security reasons as well as for environmental concerns, the consumer has got to be in a position to make a rational choice."

Bush said he appreciated "that American automobile manufacturers recognise the reality of the world in which we live in and are using new technologies to use the consumers different options."

Meeting with General Motors

Bush met with General Motors Corp. chairman and chief executive Rick Wagoner, Ford Motor Co. chief executive Alan Mulally and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group chief executive Tom LaSorda. They discussed Bush's support for flex-fuel vehicles and his administration's proposal to reduce gasolene consumption by 20 per cent in 10 years. The three auto executives reiterated their commitment to double their production of flexible fuel vehicles to about two million a year by 2010.

Automakers said they could make half their cars and trucks capable of running o fuels by 2012 if there were sufficient availability and distribution of E85, an ethanol blend of 85 per cent ethanol and 15 per cent gasolene. "This makes a big difference," Wagoner said. "There's nothing that can be done that can reduce the curb of growth of imported oil, and actually turn it down, like using E85." LaSorda said, "We think this is the answer for America to lower our dependence on foreign oil."

Environmental groups said the focus on ethanol blends would undermine attempts to push automakers to make more fuel-efficient cars. "Making our cars and light trucks go farther on a gallon of gas is the single biggest step we can take toward saving American families money at the pump, ending our dangerous addiction to oil, and curbing global warming," said Dan Becker, the Sierra Club's director of the global warming and energy programme.

Bush checked out some flex-fuel vehicles on the South Lawn of the White House compound after the meeting: GM's flex-fuel Chevrolet Impala running on E85; Ford's Edge HySeries with a plug-in hydrogen fuel cell; and DaimlerChrysler's Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel filled with B5, a biodiesel blend.