Among the car makers, General Motors and Toyota are also developing fuel cells.
General Motors, for example, has focused on fuel cells, Toyota on hybrids, DaimlerChrysler on diesels.
When they finally did, General Motors ditched its fleet of 100 Chevrolet Equinox fuel-cell cars after a two-year trial.
But automakers are balking at strong standards, even as Ford and General Motors are posting stellar profits from skyrocketing sales of fuel-efficient cars.
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As the guy in charge of planning for General Motors, Burns is forced to make the business case for fuel cells.
General Motors, Ford, and other automakers, want more visibility for their flexible fuel vehicles.
Of the world's automakers, General Motors is the most resolute champion of a future filled with vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells that emit only water as exhaust.
Unless powerful federal intervention forces Americans to buy General Motors products like the Volt, consumer preference is likely to be strongest for smart, fuel efficient brands built largely in towns from southern Ohio down to Texas.
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While the gains came across the board, the issue of fuel economy appeared to be on the backburner despite higher gasoline prices: Ford Motor, General Motors and Chrysler all touted strong pickup sales as a key growth driver in August.
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Ford Motor, General Motors and other members of the Alliance of Automobile manufacturers have conceded that they'll have to increase fuel economy standards.
Last week, the heads of the Big Three--General Motors, Ford Motor and DaimlerChrysler--pushed back, claiming that achieving those increases in corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) is too costly.
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