Cooperative research : results of U.S.-industry partnership to develop a new generation of vehicles

793883PDFResearch PaperGAO/RCED-00-81PartnershipsCompetitionManufacturingVehicle designInnovationLightweight materialsPollutantsEconomic benefitsUnited StatesUnited States. General Accounting OfficeNTL-ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT-ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTNTL-ECONOMICS AND FINANCE-Economic ImpactsNTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Vehicle DesignUS Transportation CollectionOverall, the partnership among the three domestic vehicle manufacturers is making progress toward its goals, but obstacles remain. Regarding the partnership's goal to improve U.S. competitiveness in manufacturing, it is not currently possible to assess the extent to which this goal is being met because it will take time before the effects of this research can be observed. The partnership has made progress, however, toward its second goal of implementing commercially viable innovations in conventional vehicles. Examples of this include the increased use of lightweight materials, including the development of a lightweight polymer composite truck bed; improved manufacturing processes; and decreased emissions. The partnership has focused much of its effort on the third goal of developing technologies for vehicles that can achieve up to 80 miles per gallon, and as of March 2000, all three of the industry partners had released concept cars that demonstrate the ability to achieve this goal. Nonetheless, according to the National Research Council's 1999 peer review report, while the partnership is making good progress toward the third goal, it still needs to overcome significant technological and affordability obstacles