U.S. Transportation Secretary Slater Congratulates General Motors, Ford For Progress on New Generation Vehicle |
|---|
Topics: Rodney E. Slater, General Motors, Ford Motor Company
|
U.S. Department of Transportation
January 11, 2000
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, January 11, 2000
Contact: Bill Adams
Telephone: 202-366-5580
DOT 8-00
DETROIT -- U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater at the North American International Auto Show today congratulated General Motors and Ford Motor Company on their achievements in the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) and the unveiling of their concept cars under the partnership.
"President Clinton and Vice President Gore have long supported this kind of innovation and are committed to protecting the environment," Secretary Slater said. "These concept cars meet the first milestone in the partnership and will benefit all Americans by providing greater competitiveness, better jobs and a cleaner environment."
The vehicles were developed under the PNGV, an historic public/private partnership between the U.S. federal government (including 7 agencies, one of which is the U.S. Department of Transportation, and 19 federal laboratories) and General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler, and that aims to strengthen America's competitiveness by developing technologies for a new generation of vehicles.
Announced at the White House on Sept. 29, 1993 by President Clinton, Vice President Gore, and the CEOs of the domestic auto makers, the national government/industry research program also includes research support for over 350 automotive suppliers, universities, and small businesses.
PNGV is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's commitment to innovation and excellence in transportation in the 21st century. Secretary Slater has asked the nation's science and research community for a new spirit of innovationa spirit that is flexible and responsive to change and adaptive to new and unexpected demands.
He told a special session of the 79th Transportation Research Board annual meeting yesterday that traditional methods of supporting innovations are insufficient for the future and offered four strategies to create an entrepreneurial culture, generate a climate for innovation and speed movement of new ideas and products into transportation practice.
The strategies include building partnerships, promoting basic research and developing enabling technologies, providing incentives for innovation, and supporting education and training of the next generation of innovators and transportation system operators. Secretary Slater hailed PNGV as an excellent example of the new spirit of innovation.