DaimlerChrysler Chairman and CEO Dieter Zetsche said this evening in Washington before President George W. Bush's State of the Union address that Americans should opt for regulations that allow for what he says will be a greater 
freedom of choice for a variety of alternative fuels � which should include the company's Bluetec diesel mix, of course.
Instead of the U.S. goverment's CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards hinging largely on miles-per-gallon metrics, more emphasis should be placed on new technologies and alternative fuels, he said.
In a prepared speech, Zetsche said:
What American consumers really need, he said, is less dependence on foreign oil and to adopt more alternative fuel technologies. To get there � surprise, surprise � Zetsche did not show off the latest European-made Mercedes model, but instead unveiled a new 2007 Dodge Ram pickup truck with a 6.7-liter turbodiesel engine for B5 and B20 biodiesel. The model will be available to consumers in March. Zetsche also introduced a Dodge Ram turbodiesel engine that he says will offer 30 percent improved fuel economy and will meet 2010 emissions standards, to be available after 2009.
But where is the hydrogen? Did he forget about fuel cells, which Mercedes has been pushing? Where is the vision of what we might expect in the future, besides a Dodge RAM pickup truck that gets good gas mileage and emits low amounts of NOx into the atmosphere?
