Group says link auto aid to efficiency

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Any financial aid to U.S. automakers should be tied to better fuel efficiency to boost energy independence and the economy, a scientific organization said.

"Congress has an opportunity to make the auto industry stronger by adopting a rescue plan that helps it build vehicles consumers want and wean the country off of oil," Eli Hopson, Washington representative for Union of Concerned Scientists's Clean Vehicle Program, said Tuesday in a release.

Congress has already approved a $25 billion loan package to help the auto industry build vehicles that exceed more stringent fuel economy standards. Now, some congressional members want to provide another $25 billion to struggling automakers General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Corp.

UCS experts said any assistance to automakers should be tied to better fuel economy.

"Automakers have been a major cause of our global warming and oil addiction problem," Hopson said. "They now have the opportunity to be a major part of the solution. Greener cars can help put the industry back in the black."

The Union of Concerned Scientists, based in Cambridge, Mass., is a U.S. science-based non-profit organization working for a healthy environment and a safer world.