John Kerry: “I drove a Lincoln Navigator until a couple years ago. I got rid of it because of its inefficiency in fuel. I am sorry to…”

“I drove a Lincoln Navigator until a couple years ago. I got rid of it because of its inefficiency in fuel. I am sorry to say that. I said to the dealer: You really ought to urge the Ford Motor Company to produce a car that is more efficient. I am proud to say Ford Motor Company is now evidently doing exactly that. I would love to drive one that had the efficiency. My wife drives an SUV. My stepson has an SUV. My daughter is currently driving an SUV. I have no question but that if we pass a CAFE standard, each and every one of them will continue to be able to drive an SUV. We can all buy an SUV in America that is more efficient, that saves, over the life of the car, the cost of the difference of the technology. Let me share with the Senator from Arizona that Honda has introduced its Insight. It is a two-seater. It gets about 60 miles per gallon on the highway. It is about to introduce a hybrid Civic, a two-door and a four-door, in 2002. Toyota sells the hybrid Prius. It is a four-door. It gets 48 miles per gallon combined in the United States. There is a minivan in Japan that gets nearly 40 miles per gallon. Within a few years, they are going to sell about 300,000 hybrids globally. They have announced that they are going to be profitable in this field.”