DaimlerChrysler unveils high fuel economy sedan

DaimlerChrysler's ESX3

February 24, 2000
Web posted at: 8:31 a.m. EST (1331 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As the price of a gallon of gasoline hit its highest level in years, DaimlerChrysler Corp. unveiled its version of a fuel efficient concept car.

The company's Dodge ESX3 concept car, displayed in public Tuesday for the first time, has a hybrid diesel and electric engine and gets 72 mpg while comfortably seating five people with plenty of trunk space.

It is the latest concept car as DaimlerChrysler, General Motors and Ford Motor Company compete to meet a goal set by President Clinton in 1993 to build a family sedan that gets 80 mpg but also is practical and affordable.

VIDEO CNN's Ed Garsten shows off the car, and some of its competitors. Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K     ALSO Truckers protest rising fuel costs in Washington

"We make no attempt to try to run the vehicle on the electric motor," said Bernard Robertson, DaimlerChrysler's senior vice president for engineering technologies. "We just have enough electric power on board the vehicle to recapture braking energy and run accessories with it, and to augment the engine.

"People won't pay exclusively for fuel economy," Robertson added. "The way to get this car to market is to make trade-offs to get it close to the point where people will pay for it."

With the ESX3, DaimlerChrysler will make a trade-off: concentrating on producing an affordable sedan consumers can buy sooner rather than wringing the final bit of fuel efficiency before going to market.

James Holden, DaimlerChrysler's president, says the ESX3 is "one of the most fuel efficient, cleanest and most innovative concepts we've ever built."

There are cars on the road now that get between 60 mpg and 70 mpg, such as the Toyota Prius compact or the two-seater Honda Insight, but the industry says they are too small to appeal to American families.

The ESX3, whose body is mostly plastic, weighs about 1,200 pounds less than the steel-framed Intrepid, and can get about 80 mpg on diesel fuel, the equivalent of 72 mpg on gasoline.

Beyond engineering, the greatest challenge of bringing high mileage cars to market is the cost -- up to $60,000 more than today's mid-priced sedans.

DaimlerChrysler says it has shaved that margin to just $7,500 for the ESX3, for a total sticker price in the mid-$30,000 range if the car was available today. Neither GM nor Ford has estimated the cost of their hybrid cars.

"What consumers want is for us to mass produce moon-shot technology but at down-to-earth prices," Holden said. He acknowledged the ESX3's total package of fuel economy, roominess and affordability "isn't quite here yet, at least in the form consumers will accept."

Correspondent Ed Garsten and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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