And you combine it then with an entire new U.S. auto industry that is cleaner and smarter and has better designs and is making better products -- those are potentially thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, of manufacturing jobs.

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But Honda stole the 2013 New York International Auto Show this week with a vacuum cleaner.

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And it's no accident that in a state with so many drivers, recent memories of high gas prices, and a fair number of environmentally concerned consumers, auto manufacturers are showcasing more fuel-efficient and cleaner running machines.

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And such fleet modernization programs, which provide a generous credit to consumers who turn in old, less fuel-efficient cars and purchase cleaner cars, have been successful in boosting auto sales in a number of European countries.

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And the Energy Department doled out billions more to Ford and others to preserve auto-making jobs in the U.S. while steering the industry toward cleaner vehicles.

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And we know that building energy-efficient cars with better gas mileage and cleaner emissions is going to be a big part of us being able to succeed, not only the auto industry, but also succeed in our quest for a better environment.

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