California's hybrid vehicle carpool lane policy
Last Friday I called California's carpool lane status for hybrid cars "hype" (more). Today the LATimes added to that hype when it announced that California will only be giving hybrid status to 3 vehicles, the Honda Civic hybrid, the Honda Insight, and the Toyota Prius hybrid. Of course this caused angst for Ford."The U.S. Congress determined the formula for hybrid vehicles in [carpool] lanes with single occupants, and in that law, the Ford Escape hybrid is equal to the Toyota Prius," said Mike Moran, a spokesman for Ford Motor Co. in Washington, D.C.
Boohoo, Mike.
First, giving carpool lane status to hybrid vehicles as a fuel efficiency incentive was simply a lazy plan by Congress, and more fuel for hybrid haters. Why not just raise fuel efficiency standards? Using the carpool lane to help fight foreign oil dependency can only be called one thing, a joke. It's like using a band-aid to cure a severed artery.
Second, California is only planning on giving the carpool lane exemption to 75,000 total vehicles. Within a year all of the hybrid exemptions will be gone, so the whole move really has limited impact.
For argument's sake, California is trying to clean the air and that is why other hybrids, such as the Ford Escape hybrid, Toyota Highlander hybrid, or the Lexus RX400h were not included. While these hybrids offer improved fuel efficiency and much less pollution than their conventional counterparts, they are not as fuel efficient as the leaders. With only a limited number of exceptions available, the greatest impact had to be the priority.
Vehicles, such as the Prius hybrid and Civic hybrid offer the kind of fuel efficiency that can end foreign oil dependency. Yes, hybrid SUVs are better than conventional SUVs, but they aren't 'there' yet. Ultimately, while hybrid technology can significantly improve fuel efficiency, it can also significantly improve performance, such as with the Accord hybrid and the Lexus RX400h. That is not the trend to be supported.
In the future hybrid SUVs could become as efficient as today's Prius. A few software tweeks here and a new hybrid battery development there and today's hybrid SUVs might achieve 45 mpg in their next generation.
Nonetheless, the point is that the hybrid carpool lane exemption is nothing but hype, as are the clean vehicle tax credits. Once again Congress is protecting the status quo, while offering a few 'token' programs - programs that taxpayers, not automakers - are funding.
The real focus should be on the fact that oil topped $67.00 per barrel for a number of reasons, including oil refinery problems (more). Moreover, according to a new poll, two-thirds of those surveyed said that rising gas costs were going to create a "financial burden" within the next few months.
Let's just hope terrorists don't watch the news. It's pretty obvious that choking America's oil supply would cause significant problems to the American economy, and doing that wouldn't be very hard.
Good thing Congress is taking the issue so seriously. They're the biggest joke of all - is it really any wonder so many Americans have given up on voting?
Labels: Accord hybrid, Civic hybrid, Congress, Escape hybrid, Ford, Ford Escape hybrid, Foreign Oil Dependency, fuel efficiency, Highlander hybrid, Honda, Hybrid Vehicles, Lexus hybrid, prius, toyota
posted by Dahcredyns at
3:31 PM
4 Comments:
I'm confused. It seems that California, and the Feds, know they are creating "hype" for the most fuel and emissions-efficeint vehicles. That's why they did it. To drive home one more time that those most efficient vehicles benefit society.
I for one am glad they had the guts to make a distinction between "efficiency hybrids" and the much less serious performance and SUV varieties.
I mean, if you want HYPE, that's what it would have been if the Escape Hybrid had gone in the HOV lane, and all the higher performing (for efficiency and emissions) conventional cars had not!
In general, we should not be favoring our favorite technologies. We should set a goal (in mpg and emissions per mile), and then rewared EVERYONE who achieves it, be they hybrid, conventional, or powered by rubber bands.
California did a good job of making the distinction, not the Feds. The state of California has done an excellent job of promoting hybrids, Congress gets a C-, at best, in my opinion.
Still, 75,000 HOV passes aren't going to have much of an effect on hybrid sales because they will soon run out.
Additionally, the capped tax credits expire at 60,000 hybrids and/or clean diesels per manufacturer - tax credits that tax payers are paying for.
Apparently, American automakers have no responsibility for making America safer.
In order to have an effect on foreign oil dependency millions of hybrids need to be sold, the only thing that will make that happen soon is serious Congressional action, not just a little hype.
For decades Congress has refused to address fuel efficiency, even with its CO2 implications, nor has it been willing to make the EPA more accurately rate fuel economy - which is off as much as 30 percent on conventional vehicles.
Thus, I'm tired of hype, I want action. America spends billions and billions on the War on Terror, as it funds the terrorists we're fighting with ever-increasing foreign oil consumption.
If America declared war on foreign oil dependency we could achieve it within 2 decades, maybe even one. Hype will never do that.
I get you now. I wanted action too, a couple months ago. Now I've decided I've got to wait for high gas prices (and melting perafrost) to sink in. I'm actually semi-optimsitic that it won't take too long.
Hey, we're getting there on high gas prices - let's just hope a terrorist act doesn't push the price too high.
As for the permafrost, let's hope for some very cold winters. It's pretty damb scary what is going on with permafrost and that huge glacier in Iceland
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