Q. Your main legislative effort has been a measure to mandate an increase in fuel efficiency standards on new cars - corporate average fuel economy standard, the so-called CAFE standards.

Counting the Cruiser as a light truck stands to improve the average fuel economy of the entire fleet of DaimlerChrysler's light trucks, which include sport utility vehicles, minivans and pickups.

The airline claims to have lower emissions than other airlines due to its fleet which has an average fuel burn of less than four litres for every 100 passenger kilometres it flies.

The first idea about the environmental impact of the CAFE regulation can be obtained by examining its effects on the average fuel efficiency of domestic and foreign firms; these effects are largest for the domestic production of US manufacturers, whose corporate average fuel efficiency would be lower by 1.2 MPG in the absence of CAFE standards.

Robert C. Stempel said at the auto maker's annual meeting here that increased sales of such vehicles would help G.M. and other auto makers meet the Government's corporate average fuel economy requirements, which set out minimum miles-per-gallon averages for auto makers' fleets.

The move was made to circumvent the Government's corporate average fuel economy standard, known as CAFE, which requires manufacturers' light-truck fleets (including sport utilities, pickups and minivans) to average 20.7 miles a gallon in the 1998 model year.

Improvements in air traffic management could reduce average fuel burn by between 8% and 18%, with resultant decreases in all engine emissions.

James P. Holden, DaimlerChrysler's executive vice president for North American sales, pointed out that executives who deliberately tried to subvert the corporate average fuel economy rules could face criminal prosecution.