Auto Alliance President Dave McCurdy to Resign on Feb 1

Dave McCurdy, president and CEO of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, announced he will resign early next year. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers is the trade group that influenced authorities to make a deal on fuel efficiency with automakers. The group represents the American Big Three automakers, Toyota Motor Corp. and eight other companies.

McCurdy will step down from the position he currently holds at Auto Alliance on February 1, and is expected to become president of the American Gas Association. Dave Parker, who is currently the American Gas Association's president, is retiring December 31. The association hired a recruiting firm and is actively looking for a new president.

"To best of my knowledge, a decision has not been made," said Laura Sheehan, a spokeswoman for the American Gas Association.

The group represents 195 energy companies that deliver natural gas in the US. From about 70 million residential, commercial and industrial natural gas customers in the US, 91 percent receive gas from members of the American Gas Association.

McCurdy is responsible for the late 2007 deal between automakers and Congress that increased corporate average fuel economy standards for passenger cars for the first time in two decades. He has addressed a number of pressing issues before Congress, including auto safety measures and California's efforts to set its own tailpipe emissions limits. McCurdy helped authorities and automakers reach an agreement on a single national standard for emissions for the 2012-2016 period.

"Dave McCurdy's strong leadership and strategic vision will be sorely missed. His ability to build consensus among highly competitive companies was integral to the agreement on MY (model year) 2012-2016 fuel economy standards," said Barbara Nocera, Mazda's director of government and public affairs.