Forget plug-in hybrid vehicles - For Now
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? (Full Story)
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? (Full Story)
Labels: Congress, Hybrid Vehicles, plug-in hybrids
posted by Dahcredyns at
8:28 AM
1 Comments:
(Rest of Story)
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.
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