Rally for Clean Cars (Join Us!)

Several weeks ago, the Tonkin auto dealers sued Oregon trying to block the Clean Cars program. Over the last two weeks, Oregonians have flooded the dealership with over 3,000 emails urging them to drop the lawsuit! Now, we're holding a rally in front of a Tonkin dealership in your area, and I want to invite you and your friends to join in. We'll have signs and posters as well as flyers to get passers-by involved too.

What: Rally for Clean Cars in Oregon
Where: Ron Tonkin Acura, 9655 SW Canyon Rd. Portland, OR 97225
When: 11:00am on Wednesday, September 28th

To let me know you'll attend this event, please click on this link or paste it into your web browser:
http://ospirg.org/OR.asp?id=1107&id4=ES

Background

What is the lawsuit?

On Friday September 9th, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers financed a lawsuit against the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and Environmental Quality Commission attempting to block or delay the Clean Cars program. Joining them in the suit were several auto dealerships including the Tonkin group, Mercedes Benz of Portland of Portland and Wilsonville, Coos Bay Toyota, Senator Ted Ferrioli, Representative Wayne Scott, and Representative Susan Morgan. Not only does the lawsuit try to stop a common sense global warming solution, it also wastes taxpayer money by forcing the state to expend resources defending the Clean Cars program.

Why Tonkin?

The Tonkin dealerships claim that they support the environment and have supported some common sense environmental solutions in the past. That is why we were particularly disappointed when we heard they were one of the few auto dealerships in Oregon to sue blocking the Clean Cars program. We want Tonkin to behave according to the environmental values they profess. In order to do this, they need to drop their lawsuit and support the Clean Cars program.

What is the Clean Cars Program?

The Clean Cars program is a policy that will put cleaner cars on the road in two ways. First, the program requires automakers to use existing technology to cut global warming emissions by from new cars and light trucks by about 30 percent by 2016. Second, it drives technological innovation by requiring that automakers put a minimum number of advanced-technology cars on the roads. Starting in 2009, carmakers would have to sell about 7,000 hybrids per year in Oregon and about 30,000 high-technology clean conventional cars.
For more information go to: http://www.ospirg.org/cleancars

Now, we're holding a rally in front of a Tonkin dealership in your area, and I want to invite you and your friends to join in. We'll have signs and posters as well as flyers to get passers-by involved too.