California Sues World's Six Largest Automakers

Motoring Channel Staff - 21/Sep/2006

California, USA — The land of the SUV, the Golden State as it's sometimes known - California - is suing six of the biggest and most well-known car companies in the US in what could be a landmark court case that changes the way automakers do business.

Some 26 million vehicles travel the roadways of California, which accounts for about 10% of the of all car sales in the USA, and the state is a leader in terms of environmental controls. The allegation that Californian State Attorney General Bill Lockyer is making against Ford, General Motors, Toyota and others is that they have caused millions of dollars worth of spending by the state (to reduce CO2 and greenhouse gases) that is the result of running their products, i.e. combustion engine cars.

The complaint also alleges that global warming - a direct result of vehicle exhaust emissions - and the future harm caused by the warming of the planet's atmosphere has caused "billions of dollars of current harm to the value of flood control infrastructure" and that natural resources are also at risk because of the car makers polluting products, which includes the Californian snow pack and coastline.

The State of California sued General Motors, Ford, Toyota Motor Corporation, DaimlerChrysler AG and the North American branches of Honda Motor Company and Nissan Motor Company for creating a public nuisance by selling vehicles that, combined, pump out millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, according a report filed today in the US District Court in Oakland.

A 'nuisance' is "anything which is injurious to health," the complaint stated. 

What this means for the world's biggest car makers is still unknown, and how long the court case goes for is another question mark, but the State of California wields an enormous amount of power - it contributes 13 per cent of America's gross domestic product (GDP) and is the eighth largest economy on the planet.

Some of the automakers labelled in the suit have declined to make any comment, and those that have say they are "reviewing the lawsuit". 

"Vehicle emissions are the single most rapidly growing source of the carbon emissions contributing to global warming, yet the federal government and the automakers have refused to act,'' said California's Attorney General Bill Lockyer in a statement relating to the suit.

California is seeking compensation for general environmental damage and erosion caused by motor vehicles and is the latest move by the influential State to highlight the impact that global warming is making.

California is the most active American state in fighting pollution, and it's Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is in support of recent legislature that now requires industry and business to reduce any emissions that are linked to global warming by 25 percent in the next 14 years. In response to these new pollution laws, car makers have sued state arguing that redesigning cars to meet these goals would cost billions of dollars, and the judge presiding over this older case is yet to rule on it.

Back to the new lawsuit that has been filed specifically against car makers in the USA, and the suit states that Californian residents have been plagued by "billions of dollars in damages, including millions of dollars of funds expended to determine the extent, location and nature of future harms."

Amy Lynd Luers who is with the Union of Concerned Scientists, and specialises in climate research, released a statement from the group backing California's new charged against the six large automakers. "Rising temperatures are threatening California's economy, health and environment. Changes are already under way,'' stated Luers, adding that "Automakers are contributing to global warming today.''

Some car companies, such Honda, Toyota and General Motors are currently researching and developing zero emission fuel-cell vehicles, but many experts believe that these vehicles will not be on sale to the public until well into well beyond 2010, as infrastructure, such as filling stations, need to be established and the oil companies are being courted for such plans.