Schwarzenegger to Michigan: Get off your butt

WASHINGTON -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pulled no punches Wednesday in telling Detroit automakers to "get off your butt" and increase the fuel efficiency of their cars and trucks, saying they are "still lagging behind."

Schwarzenegger's comments came as he responded to a billboard that went up last month along Interstate 75 in Detroit that criticized him for mandating vehicle emission caps in California that will be costly for Detroit automakers to meet.

The billboard, from U.S. Rep Joe Knollenberg, R-Bloomfield Hills, reads: "Arnold to Michigan: Drop Dead." It features Schwarzenegger's photo and drew widespread attention.

"Now, there's a billboard in Michigan that accuses me of costing the car industry $85 billion," Schwarzenegger said at a speech in Washington. "The billboard says, 'Arnold to Michigan: Drop dead.' The fact of the matter is what I'm saying is, Arnold to Michigan: Get off your butt. Get off your butt and join us."

In 2002, California ordered its air resources board to adopt caps to dramatically reduce carbon dioxide emissions and force more than a 30 percent improvement in fuel economy over the next decade. The auto industry has filed suits to block the regulations. Schwarzenegger said the rules would help the industry.

"What we are doing is we are pushing them to make changes, to make the changes so they can sell their cars in California," he said. "And we all know -- let's be honest -- that if they don't change, someone will. The Japanese will. The Chinese will. The South Koreans will. The Germans will."

Schwarzenegger spoke at the Global Environment Conference at Georgetown University. He said he is optimistic about the future of Detroit automakers, all struggling to compete against foreign rivals grabbing ever more U.S. auto sales.

"I want them to sell the cars in California," Schwarzenegger said. "I believe strongly in American technology. And I think in the end it will be technology that will ultimately save Detroit."

General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group agreed with the governor's emphasis on technology, but took issue with other aspects of his comments.

"Technology is the solution, but it's not government mandates that are not based on science or on what consumers want or need," GM spokesman Greg Martin said.

GM is aggressively pursuing technologies to improve fuel economy, Martin said, and has more 30-mpg models on the road than any automaker.

Chrysler spokesman Jason Vines said U.S. auto companies have led environmental advances, including the development of the catalytic converter.

Knollenberg spokesman Trent Wisecop said Schwarzenegger "is dead wrong on this issue. The mandates that are coming out of California would devastate the manufacturing sector of the American economy."