One of the nation’s largest consumer incentives for energy-efficient cars—a tax credit of $1,800—goes to buyers of a $60,000-plus hulking diesel SUV that gets 17 mpg in the city. The Mercedes GL320 Bluetec and two other so-called “clean diesel” SUVs from Mercedes benefit from the tax credits. Meanwhile, today’s most efficient hybrids—such as the 50-mpg Toyota Prius and the 41-mpg Honda Insight, selling for $22,000 and $19,800 respectively—are not eligible for any federal tax incentives.
The dismal economy is forcing companies, and individuals, to make tough decisions about what is essential, and what can get tossed aside to save a buck. In the past, car companies might have shelved green car technologies as nice-to-have but too expensive and not really critical. However, this time around, the world’s major automakers are holding firm to plans for hybrid gas-electric cars, pure electric vehicles, and other fuel-saving programs.
One day after the US government rejected GM’s turnaround plan, Mark LaNeve, the company’s vice president of sales, service, and marketing for North America, spoke with Eddie Alterman, editor-in-chief of Car and Driver magazine. For most of the discussion, LaNeve and Alterman talked about restoring consumer confidence and the future of GM brands. But finally LaNeve said that GM needs to turn away from high-performance and toward fuel-efficiency to send "a better message" to key stakeholders."
Toyota has confirmed its plans to produce a smaller less expensive hybrid car. "We are developing a low-priced hybrid vehicle like Honda's Insight," said Akihiko Otsuka, chief engineer of the third-generation Toyota Prius. "We are going to compete by expanding our hybrid-vehicle lineup to smaller hybrids, in the class of the...Yaris.
Toyota announced today that combined sales of Toyota and Lexus gas-electric vehicles in the United States topped the 1 million mark. This comes just one day after Ford announced that the 100,000th Ford hybrid SUV rolled off the assembly line of the company’s Kansas City assembly plant—and one month after Honda announced that it had sold more than 300,000 hybrids worldwide.
Hybrid car sales may currently be in the doldrums, but the forces for a major hybrid takeover of the auto market in about three to five years are already in the works.
The economic stimulus package provides tax credits for 25-mph-max neighborhood electric vehicles, and plug-in hybrid cars that won’t be on the market for at least two years—but today’s hybrids get nothing. See our comprehensive analysis of new incentives for green cars.
When gas prices spiked above $4 last summer, Toyota couldn’t keep up with demand for the gas-electric Prius. When the company begins selling the third-generation 2010 Toyota Prius in a few weeks, the price will be about half the level of last year’s peak. Does this worry Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales USA? That’s what we asked him last month in Detroit. See our exclusive video interview.
Hybrid cars are either a complete waste of money. Or the best example of how Detroit is finally producing the fuel-efficient cars that consumers want. These dueling views on hybrids—from columnist Manny Lopez and US Rep. John Dingell—played out in today’s Detroit News.
As concerns over global warming, high gas prices, and dependence on foreign oil snowballed in the last few years, movers and shakers around the country decided to get in on the green car revolution. We take a look at six megamillionaires, who have each taken major stakes in a green transportation technology. But as these men surely know—or are about to learn—most small green car and alternative fuel companies face an uphill battle. Which of these wealthy tech investors do you think will be successful?
