Clean car opposition running out of gas

Some in GOP say dealers haven’t made their case against the bill

Car dealers have not made a solid case against the bill, the Republicans say.

‘‘Some of us are disappointed because we’re hearing they want to turn in the towel,” said Senate Minority Leader David R. Brinkley (R-Dist. 4) of New Market.

‘‘We’re not turning in any towels,” said Gerard N. Murphy, president and CEO of the Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association. ‘‘We’re disappointed that they’re taking that position, because our position hasn’t changed.”

Republicans say the dealers would support the bill with an amendment, being offered by Sen. Jennie M. Forehand (D-Dist. 17) of Rockville, that would commission a University of Maryland study to review air regulations related to the bill.

‘‘As far as I can tell, it would gut the entire purpose of the bill,” said Sen. Alexander X. Mooney (R-Dist. 3) of Urbana. ‘‘We’ve been studying the issue for years. ... That’s what we do in Maryland. Instead of killing it, we just have a commission to study it.”

Mooney, like Forehand, sits on the Judicial Proceedings Committee, which is weighing the bill.

Sen. Nancy Jacobs, another Republican who sits on Judicial Proceedings, said she supports the bill with the Forehand amendment and one of her own. Jacobs wants manufacturers to be able to ship cars that meet the tougher California standard as well as the more relaxed federal standard, so dealers can sell to cross-border customers.

Jacobs will not support the bill unless one — and possibly both — of the amendments are included, she said.

If the bill passes as it stands, ‘‘I think you’ll see a lot of new-car dealers become used-car dealers,” said Jacobs (R-Dist. 34) of Abingdon.

Mooney said he has not decided whether to support the bill.

‘‘Despite all the rhetoric it does not appear to me that car dealers in my area care about the bill,” he said, adding that of the 40 to 50 dealers in his district he has heard from two. Both oppose the bill. ‘‘I thought the car dealer folks had just given up.”

Brinkley remains on the fence. ‘‘Depending on what I see and hear, I might vote for it,” he said. ‘‘I’m keeping my options open, depending on what I see.”

David K. Williams Jr. is the owner of Williams Family Auto Mall in Elkton. The dealership’s slogan is ‘‘Route 40 at the Maryland-Delaware Line.” That means nearly half his business comes from Delaware, which follows only the federal standards.

‘‘We’re a very small state in a very large market,” Williams said outside a Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee hearing last week.

Because the standards could be changed at the whims of the California board, dealers cannot say how much the bill could raise the cost of vehicles.

That cost is something manufacturers need to come up with, Jacobs said.

‘‘The estimates are anywhere from $750 up to $3,000,” she said. ‘‘... They don’t have an answer.”

Murphy said WANADA believes Maryland will not benefit from the California standards without a formulation of gasoline that is sold only on the West Coast.

Jack Fitzgerald, WANADA’s chairman of the board and president of Fitzgerald Auto Malls based in North Bethesda, said he objects to the zero-emission portions of the legislation. What they mean, he contends, is that dealers will have to sell electric cars at a loss and then increase the price on other cars to cover those losses.

‘‘Does that make sense to you?” Fitzgerald asked.