Big 3 face heat in D.C. over global warming

Top executives of the world's four biggest automakers and the head of the United Auto Workers union will testify before Congress next month during a high-profile hearing on climate change amid growing calls for automakers to do more to limit global warming. General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner and Jim Press, president of Toyota Motor Corp.'s North American division, have agreed to testify March 14 before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which is chaired by U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn.

Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group have also agreed to participate and are expected to send Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. and Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger will appear at a separate session of the same hearing.

Dingell is calling the automotive heavyweights to Washington as he is working to fashion a compromise to President Bush's call to increase fuel economy by 4 percent annually, which would reduce vehicle emissions that have been linked to global warming. Dingell's goal is a bill to cut greenhouse gas emissions that automakers can support. More at Detroit News