FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         ENR
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1996                        (202) 514-2008
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888


         U.S. APPROVES GENERAL MOTORS PLAN TO SPEND OVER
       $7 MILLION ON POLLUTION REDUCTION PROJECTS REQUIRED
                  UNDER 1995 CADILLAC SETTLEMENT

Company's Efforts Produce Innovative Projects Designed To Improve
        Air Quality In Several States With Severe Problems


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As part of a $45 million 1995 settlement
requiring the recall of over a half-million Cadillacs, General
Motors Corporation (GM) will implement five innovative
environmental projects of its own design, at a cost of over $7
million, to offset illegal levels of air pollution generated by
the recalled automobiles, the United States announced today.  The
government alleged the company had equipped the cars with illegal
devices that defeated pollution controls, resulting in carbon
monoxide emissions more than three times the legal limit between
1991 and 1995.

     The projects will be implemented in areas with serious air
quality problems in California, Arizona, Connecticut, New York,
Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.

     According to the project plan, GM will buy and retire older,
high-polluting vehicles, provide or upgrade electric vehicles for
use by state or local agencies, and fund the acquisition of
electric shuttle buses and pick-up trucks by the operator of
Boston's Logan International Airport.

     "I am pleased that GM is stepping up to the plate and will
perform these innovative pollution reduction projects," said Lois
Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Justice
Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division.  "These
projects, obtained through our vigorous enforcement of the Clean
Air Act, will mean cleaner air for people living and working in
the places most affected by serious air-pollution."

     "Today's action shows our commitment to ensuring that
environmental enforcement protects public health today and in the
future," said Steven Herman, Assistant Administrator of EPA's
Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.  "In addition to
paying a penalty and fixing a problem, GM also will play a role
in helping to improve the air we breathe."   

     The projects are expected to reduce annual carbon monoxide
emissions by 2,400 tons, hydrocarbon emissions by 300 tons, and
nitrous oxide emissions by 175 tons.  Carbon monoxide can cause
cardiopulmonary problems and can lead to headaches, impaired
vision and a reduced ability to work and learn. 

     Under the project plan, filed today in U.S. District Court
in Washington, D.C., GM will spend a total of $3.8 million to buy
and retire older, higher-polluting vehicles in the
Phoenix/Maricopa County area of Arizona, and in Southern
California, an area with the worst air pollution problem in the
country.  

     In addition, in California, Connecticut, New York,
Massachusetts and New Hampshire -- states that have recently
exceeded the national ambient air quality standard for carbon
monoxide -- GM will spend more than $2 million to provide or
upgrade electric vehicles for use by state or local agencies. 
The plan calls for these "zero-emission" vehicles to be equipped
with longer range nickel metal-hydride batteries, enhancing their
use as substitutes for higher polluting gasoline-fueled cars.

     Another project required by the plan calls for GM to provide
$750,000 to MASSPORT, operator of Boston's Logan International
Airport, to fund the acquisition of electric shuttle buses, pick-
up trucks, and an inductive charging station for Logan's electric
vehicle fleet.  The funds will also be used to convert a conveyer
belt loader and ten tow tractors now in use at the airport to
electric power. 

     The pollution reduction projects are the final component of
GM's 1995 settlement with the United States resolving allegations
that GM sold vehicles that did not conform with the Clean Air
Act, made and sold vehicles equipped with illegal devices,
tampered with certain 1991 and 1992 model-year Cadillacs, and
failed to describe the use of emission control devices to EPA.  

     GM's total cost in the 1995 settlement, estimated at about
$45 million includes, $11 million in civil penalties, the
estimated $25 million recall and repair of the 570,000 Cadillacs,
and the projects announced today, estimated to cost up to $8.75
million.  It was the nation's first judicial automobile recall
for environmental reasons.

     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.

     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.

     In 1991, GM designed a new engine control computer chip to
respond to customer complaints of stalling and other drive-
ability problems in the 1991 Cadillacs.  GM continued to install
the chip in its 1992 through 1995 model year 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.
                               ###
96-585