GM chief pushing for higher gas taxes. (Obama Motors Shafts Public)

GM chief pushing for higher gas taxes. (Obama Motors Shafts Public):

"Detroit — General Motors Co. CEO Dan Akerson wants the federal gas tax boosted as much as $1 a gallon to nudge consumers toward more fuel-efficient cars, and he's confident the government will soon shed its remaining 26 percent stake in the once-bankrupt automaker.

'I actually think the government will be out this year — within the next 12 months, hopefully within the next six months,' Akerson said in a two-hour interview with The Detroit News last week.

He is grateful for the government's rescue of GM — 'I have nothing but good things to say about them' — but Akerson said the time for that relationship to end is coming because it's wearing on GM.

“It’s kind of like your in-laws: It was a nice long weekend. We didn’t say a week,” Akerson said with a laugh.

And while he is eager to say goodbye to the government as a part owner of GM, Akerson would like to see it step up to the challenge of setting a higher gas tax, as part of a comprehensive energy policy.

A government-imposed tax hike, Akerson believes, will prompt more people to buy small cars and do more good for the environment than forcing automakers to comply with higher gas-mileage standards."