Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles - 12/19/06

The Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) was formed in 1993.  It included General Motors, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler as well as seven federal agencies.  The goal of the PNGV was to triple the fuel efficiency of family size sedans compared to conventional family sedans being manufactured.  The new sedan must meet consumer expectations of cost, safety and performance.  After the engineers studied numerous options each automaker decided that the diesel electric hybrid would be the best choice.  Diesel engines provided higher fuel efficiency, performance and reliability over gasoline engines. 

The big three automakers completed their diesel electric PNGV vehicles in 2000.  GM presented the diesel electric Precept which had the best fuel efficiency of 79.6 mpg.  Fords Prodigy diesel electric hybrid got 70 mpg and the DaimlerChrysler Dodge ESX3 diesel electric sedan achieved 72 mpg.  These vehicles met consumer demands of safety and performance while obtaining fuel efficiency of 70 to 80 mpg.  These vehicles showed achievements that can be made by an American automaker.

Why have we not seen these cars in production before now!

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