California Air Resources Board

SACRAMENTO - The Air Resources Board (ARB) will consider adopting emission standards that will produce ultra-clean cars and cleaner fuels during a pair of public hearings this week in Los Angeles.

The hearings will be held this Thursday and Friday, September 27 and 28, beginning at 8:30 a.m. in the auditorium of the State Building, 107 South Broadway, in downtown Los Angeles.

The proposals include the world's first requirements for "ultra clean" cars; mandatory production of "zero-emission" electric cars; and the nation's first standards to define "reformulated gasoline."

The proposals will pave the way for a new generation of cars and fuels to be phased in between 1994 and 2003 that will be 50 to 84 percent less polluting than the strictest standards the ARB has already adopted. Executives of major automobile manufacturers and oil companies, as well as energy and environmental experts and elected officials are expected to testify.

Photo opportunities: up to seven prototype vehicles running on fuels as diverse as electricity, methanol, compressed natural gas, LPG and superior grade gasoline coupled with an advanced catalytic converter. Displays of advanced anti-smog technology that is expected to be used in meeting the ARB's proposed standards will also be on display.