THERE used to be talk of cars one day getting 80 miles per gallon. They would be built by Detroit's Big Three, developed and engineered with $10 billion in government research grants.

It was a time when gas prices hovered above $1.20 and everything seemed possible, even a joint effort by Ford, GM and Chrysler to build super-duper energy-efficient economy cars. It was 1993.

In September of that year, President Bill Clinton announced plans for a so-called clean car--also known as "Supercar"--thanks to a collaboration between government and industry, called "Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles" He compared the effort to the Apollo space program and promised to bring the new vehicles to life within 10 years.

The goal was to preserve and create jobs, boost the economy and limit Americans' dependence on foreign oil. Pollution would be reduced, too.