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Forget
plug-in hybrid vehicles - For Now
Monday,
October 23, 2006
Never put
off until tomorrow what you can do today. That's the
sentiment that plug-in
hybrid vehicles are beginning to cause me.
Over the weekend, as I was catching up on some news I read
two hybrid stories. The first by Green
Car Congress discussed Hymotion,
a hybrid to plug-in hybrid conversion company, and their
plans to add solar panels to their conversion process. Now
this is an idea I completely support and I totally support
Hymotion.
So, why am I beginning to have plug-in angst?
Currently, there is an online petition being run by
AutoNation that AutoblogGreen
has been covering the last few weeks. Now, this isn't the
only plug-in petition on the Internet - there are many,
however, this particular petition is focused on fleets -
an issue that bugs AutoblogGreen.
What bugs me, on the other hand, is all the interest in
tomorrow's plug-in hybrids rather than today's hybrid
issues. It's almost starting to sound like GM claiming
that today's fuel efficiency isn't all that important
because tomorrow's fuel cell vehicles will solve that
problem. Yet, tomorrow is always pushed off until
tomorrow.
I say forget plug-in hybrid vehicles - unless you are
interested in a coversion - for now. Today, tax credits
for Toyota hybrid
cars have been cut in half. Since Toyota is currently
the most important developer of hybrid technology, such a
reduction in consumer incentives (tax credits) is going to
hurt hybrid demand, especially with cheaper gas.
Ultimately, if interest in today's hybrids loses steam,
interest in tomorrow's plug-in hybrids will also falter.
Yet, gas prices will eventually go up, and Americans will
once again look back and ask, 'Why didn't we keep
developing hybrids?'
When Toyota qualified for the full tax credit, the Prius
was a bargain as gas prices hit $3.00. A Prius could be
bought for financial reasons, not just environmental or
oil dependency reasons, and financial reasons simply
resonate the most with the average automobile consumer
today. The more hybrids that sell today, the sooner better
hybrid technology, including plug-in hybrid technology,
will become available tomorrow.
Inevitably, online petitions for plug-in hybrids are
almost a distraction from today's hybrid issues. Investing
in today's hybrids is the best path towards plug-in
hybrids. Aside from buying a hybrid, getting Congress to
extend hybrid vehicle tax credits for today's hybrids, is
a far more important issue than supporting tomorrow's
plug-in hybrid vehicles with a petition.
More on Congress
and the Hybrid Car Revolution.
posted by Dahcredyns at 8:28
AM
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