    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book II)]
    [September 29, 1993]
    [Pages 1626-1629]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Announcing the Clean Car Initiative
    September 29, 1993

        Thank you very much, and good morning ladies and gentlemen. I want
    to say a special good morning to the young people whose vision of the
    future can be seen on these great drawings they have done.
        I want to begin by, as the Vice President did, acknowledging the
    presence here of Mr. Eaton, Mr. Poling, Mr. Smith, Mr. Bieber, and also
    a lot of representatives of auto suppliers, people who supply component
    parts who will have a major role in this great project, I thank all them
    for being here, the Members of Congress. I also want to acknowledge one
    that we inadvertently omitted, Senator Bryan from Nevada, a longtime
    leader in the struggle to increase fuel efficiency.

    [[Page 1627]]

        I kind of liked the Vice President's story about the self-starter.
    When I first met Al Gore, I thought he had one of those implanted in him
    at an early age. [Laughter]
        This is especially a happy moment for me. Some of you know that when
    I was a young man, when I was very young, my father was a Buick dealer
    in a small town in Arkansas where I was born, and he later went into
    business with my uncle in a larger town. I can still remember the first
    gainful work I think I ever did, when I was 6 years old, was trying to
    help my dad restore some Henry J.'s that had burned in a fire 35 miles
    from our home. And as a favor to the dealer, he helped him restore the
    cars, and we got to keep one. So until I was 18 years old, I drove a
    1952 Henry J. self-made convertible. I once had an accident in it, and
    my jaw hit the steering wheel, and I broke the steering wheel in half. I
    don't know if that was an advertisement for my jaw or a condemnation of
    the steering wheel.
        One of my most prized possessions is a 1967 Mustang convertible that
    I restored a few years ago. And I think when I left my home, it was the
    thing that I most regretted leaving behind. The other people who drove
    on the roads in my home State, however, were immensely relieved.
        I think that all of us have our car-crazy moments and have those
    stories. Today, we're going to try to give America a new car-crazy
    chapter in her rich history, to launch a technological venture as
    ambitious as any our Nation has ever attempted. General Motors, Ford,
    Chrysler, and your National Government have agreed to accept a set of
    ambitious research and development goals for automobiles. We're
    confident that other companies outside Detroit will join in.
        Our long-term goal is to develop affordable, attractive cars that
    are up to 3 times more fuel-efficient than today's cars--3 times--and
    meet strict standards for urban air pollution, safety, performance, and
    comfort.
        Industry and Government engineering teams will work together on
    this. The project will involve Federal and industry funding. The
    Government will pick up a greater share of the high-risk projects, ones
    identified by an auto industry/Government team. We'll have three types
    of research projects: first, advanced manufacturing techniques to lower
    production costs and get new products on the market fast; second,
    research on technologies that can lead to near-term improvements and
    auto efficiency safety and emissions; and third, research that could
    lead to production prototypes of vehicles capable of up to 3 times
    greater fuel efficiency.
        Now, the Vice President mentioned that this brings together a number
    of things we are trying to do in this administration. First, there's a
    public-private partnership. Government can't do these things by itself,
    but there are a lot of things that we need to be working on that market
    forces alone can't do. So the third way, a partnership between the
    Government and the private sector to avoid the inefficiencies, the
    bureaucracies, and the errors of Government policy but to add the
    technology and the investment expertise we can bring, I think this is
    the way we're going to solve a lot of problems in the future. We'd be
    foolish not to rely on the auto industry with its clear understanding of
    the practical problems, and this makes sure that neither Government nor
    industry wastes money on projects with no real future.
        The second thing we want to do is to keep America competitive. When
    you think of all the slogans you've heard over the years, what stands
    out is not just how catchy they are but how much truth there is to them.
    In the new Chrysler form skillfully follows--in the new Chryslers--
    excuse me--form skillfully follows functions. Ford has had better ideas.
    And there is a lot to admire if you've driven a Buick lately. We have
    got to do more of this.
        You know, one of the great untold stories, although it's beginning
    to get out, is that these people up here on this stage are regaining
    American market share. People are buying more American cars made in
    America because they're doing a good job.
        And since the auto industry is responsible for one out of every
    seven jobs in the United States, it is clearly incumbent upon all of us
    to support this effort and to make sure it succeeds. What better way is
    there to work together on a car that's practical, affordable, fun to
    drive, places little or no burden on the environment? We want American
    cars at the head of this parade, not bringing up the rear. Believe me,
    there will be a huge market for them.
        The third thing we want to do--and this is very, very important to
    this administration; part of our commitment to reinventing Government--
    is to get rid of wasteful and costly regulation. The Government will in
    no way abdicate its responsibility in the search for near-term im-

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    provements in fuel efficiency, but we do want to break the wasteful
    gridlock in Washington over auto issues. We want a vehicle that lets us
    scrap a lot of the regulation in place today because it's achieved the
    objectives of the regulation in a much more efficient and market-based
    way.
        This agreement represents an important peace dividend. It makes the
    expertise of the Department of Energy's weapons labs, as well as the
    research departments throughout the Department of Defense available to
    industry. That means all those super-strong, light-weight materials
    developed for weapons systems will be available here.
        I told someone today right before we came out--I told the Vice
    President that I remember very vividly over 30 years ago standing in the
    showroom of the Buick dealership in my hometown and having my dad look
    at the new models and say, ``You know, some day they'll figure out a way
    to make a car that weighs less than half this much, and the fuel
    efficiency problems will be a long way toward being solved.'' Now we
    know we'll be able to do things with engines that we never dreamed over
    30 years ago.
        Let me make one last point. This agreement grows out of a bedrock
    premise of this administration, one of the reasons that I ran for
    President. This agreement reflects an understanding that changes in this
    world are inevitable. They cannot be repealed. They cannot be rolled
    back. They cannot be denied. They can be avoided or delayed at our
    peril. What we have to do is to try to find a way to make these changes
    our friends. This is a visionary effort on behalf of the American people
    to make change our friend in one of the most important economic areas of
    American life. We do not have the choice to do nothing. We have to act
    decisively to shape change so that it matches the needs of the future.
    That's what we're trying to do with health care. That's what we're
    trying to do with economic policy. That's what we're trying to do here
    today.
        This is the end of a long negotiation and the beginning of a great
    period of action and excitement in American life. Is there any risk? You
    bet there is. We have to condition the American people to be willing to
    take more risks and fail in order to ultimately succeed. Will we have
    setbacks? I imagine we will if we do anything. But that's no reason to
    give up.
        Alexander Graham Bell once remarked that if he had known more about
    electricity, he never would have invented the telephone. We need a
    little more of that kind of ignorance today--to just keep walking into
    those solid walls until they give way.
        We cannot be deterred by the difficulty. For 50 years, the companies
    represented here today have comprised the basic engine of American
    prosperity. Working together, we can make sure the freedom and
    convenience of personal vehicles will continue to be available to all
    Americans. We intend to do nothing less than to define the world car of
    the next century, to propel the auto industry to the forefront of world
    automobile production, and to make this industry the source of
    imagination for young people of the future, for their ideas, their
    careers, and their efforts.
        I'm excited. But most importantly, maybe, our young people are
    excited. And let me just close with this story. I was greeting a number
    of Ambassadors the other day, including an Ambassador from one of the
    Baltic countries who has an American wife and a young son who is 5 years
    old, who speaks fluent English and German, because his father had been
    living in Germany. I never met a 5-year-old kid like this in my life.
    And when I shook hands with him, he said, ``I'm glad to meet you, Mr.
    President. I want you to make a car that runs on electricity and doesn't
    pollute the air.'' And he said, ``I intend to work on this, and I want
    you to tell the Vice President that I'm working on this.'' [Laughter]
        So I said, ``Well, you tell him.'' I was so impressed I went to get
    Al Gore, and I introduced him to this 5-year-old boy, and he said,
    ``Hello, Mr. Vice President. I intend to spend my life working on
    this.'' And he said, ``I am going to help you develop an electric car
    that has no pollution.'' And Al Gore says, ``That means we're going to
    be partners.'' He said, ``Yes, I guess so. But you don't understand. I'm
    going to spend my whole life on this.'' [Laughter]
        We've got all these kids out there that are on fire about this. And
    I want to say again, maybe that's the most important thing in the world.
    We can keep them looking to the future with confidence. This country
    needs a good dose of old-fashioned confidence today that all the
    challenges we face can be met and conquered. And this ought to be a
    clear signal to America

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    that the core of the American industrial economy, the auto industry, is
    looking to the future with confidence and that the United States
    Government is going to be their partner in that successful march.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:24 a.m. on the South Lawn at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Robert J. Eaton, chairman and
    chief executive officer, Chrysler Motor Co.; Harold A. Poling, chairman
    and chief executive officer, Ford Motor Co.; John F. Smith, Jr.,
    president, General Motors Co.; and Owen Bieber, president, United Auto
    Workers.