FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         ENR
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1995                        (202) 616-2771
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                                 
     U.S. ANNOUNCES $45 MILLION CLEAN AIR SETTLEMENT WITH GM

     FIRST JUDICIAL ENVIRONMENTAL RECALL -- 470,000 CADILLACS

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- General Motors Corporation will spend
approximately $45 million to settle government charges that it
put illegal devices to defeat pollution controls inside nearly a
half-million Cadillacs since 1991 that resulted in carbon
monoxide emissions of up to three times the legal limit.  The
case is the largest ever brought under the Clean Air Act rules
for car and truck emissions by the Justice Department on behalf
of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the first judicial
auto recall aimed at curbing damage to the environment.

     GM will pay an $11 million fine, more than $25 million to
recall and retrofit the polluting vehicles, and up to $8.75
million on projects to offset emissions from these vehicles. 
These projects may include buying back older vehicles or
purchasing new school buses that burn cleaner fuels.  
  
     The case grew out of EPA's investigation that showed that
the Cadillac "defeat devices" resulted in the illegal release of
approximately 100,000 tons of excess carbon monoxide pollution. 

     "Carbon monoxide can cause cardiopulmonary problems and can
lead to headaches, impaired vision and a reduced ability to work
and learn," said Attorney General Janet Reno.  "These so-called
defeat devices are not just paper violations, but result in real
increases in emissions that affect real people." 

     The agreement, filed in federal District Court in
Washington, D.C., resolved government allegations that GM sold
vehicles that did not conform with the Clean Air Act, made and
sold vehicles equipped with illegal defeat devices, tampered with
certain 1991 and 1992 model-year Cadillacs, and failed to
describe the use of emission-control devices to the EPA.  GM 

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agreed to recall and to repair the 470,000 Cadillacs.    

     "These devices sacrificed public health and defied the laws
that are in place precisely to prevent the long-term health
effects that carbon monoxide air pollution causes.  These illegal
devices caused enough additional air pollution to blanket a major
U.S. city, such as Washington, D.C. with a ten-foot layer of
carbon monoxide," said EPA Administrator Carol Browner. "Today's
action demonstrates the very real need for -- and the Clinton
Administration's commitment to -- strong enforcement of the law
that protect public health and the environment for the American
people."
  
     The government's allegations centered on GM's 1991-1995
model year Cadillacs, including Seville and Deville models,
equipped with GM's 4.9 liter engine.  An additional claim
involved GM's failure to notify EPA about certain emission
control strategies for light duty vehicles sold in model years
1991-1995.

     Lois Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General for the
Environment and Natural Resources Division, said: "At a time when
many consumers are being asked to use oxygenated fuels to reduce
carbon monoxide, GM has engaged in practices that improperly
increase the carbon monoxide emissions from these cars.  That's
not right and it's unfair to the American people."

     During routine testing in the fall of 1993, EPA discovered
that the Cadillacs failed to comply with federal emissions
requirements.  EPA tests showed that the engines emitted up to 10
grams of carbon monoxide a mile with the climate control on, well
above the 3.4 grams/mile limit.    

     "GM's actions constituted a serious violation of the Clean
Air Act and undermined EPA's efforts to improve air quality",
Steven Herman, Assistant Administrator of EPA's Office of
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance said.  "Since the vehicle
certification program depends on complete and accurate
information supplied by automobile manufacturers, GM's conduct
jeopardized the integrity of the program", Herman added.

     "This action today sends a signal that violations of the
Clean Air Act will not be tolerated," said Eric Holder, United
States Attorney for the District of Columbia.  "The Act's
requirements protect the health and welfare of our citizens and
we will vigorously enforce it."

     In 1991, GM designed a new engine control computer chip to
respond to customer complaints of stalling and other drive
problems in the 1991 Cadillacs.  The device nearly tripled the
output of carbon monoxide when the car's climate control system
is on -- for heating or cooling.  The instructions on the
computer chip enriched the fuel (increased the amount of fuel
relative to air), which overrode the emission control system and
resulted in multiplying the carbon monoxide emissions.  For the
1993-1995 model years, GM again failed to disclose the use of the
device or its adverse emissions effects.  

     
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