In the report, Darrell Issa, a California Republican and Committee Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, criticized the Obama administration playing the "automakers off of each other to gain a tactical advantage over the industry." Issa asserts that the White House unfairly incorporated fuel economy rules that gave domestic automakers a leg up on their foreign competitors.
"Japan is angry. Feel like they have been screwed," said Toyota Motor Sales U.S. chief Jim Lentz in a handwritten note included in the report.
Lnetz also called the final fuel regs "old Detroit tactic. It may hurt me, but it hurts my competitors more."
Despite its opposition, Toyota eventually signed off on the regulations, prompting this response from then-White House chief negotiator Ron Bloom: "Thank you for getting this done. I know how difficult this must have been in a culture where fairness is very important."
Honda also expressed concerned about the regulations. The White House's proposal included credits for hybrid pickups but not other vehicles.
"Why not minivans? After all, there are no U.S. applications of this (hybrid) technology. "¦ Can't there be a 'bonus' credit for any fleet of vehicles (minivans, CUVs, etc)," he wrote, saying the truck credits are "where domestic (automakers) dominate" and that they communicate "favoritism and an unfair playing field," questioned Robert Bienenfeld, Honda's senior manager for environment and energy strategy.
The White House has yet to respond to the report, but Representative Elijah Cummings, a Democrat from Maryland, did comment to The Detroit News. "Any allegations that the White House is seeking to weaken the auto industry are simply ridiculous "" this is the White House that saved the auto industry from its near-collapse," he said.
