A Guide to Hybrid Incentives and Laws

Depending on when you bought a hybrid or other green car, which model you purchased, and how many deductions you are already taking, you might be entitled to a significant tax credit. We’ll continue to track federal, local and corporate hybrid incentives, and share it in these pages. You'll also find the latest government proposals and plans.

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AutoNation’s Mike Jackson: Efficient Cars and Cheap Gas Don't Mix: No matter how efficient and green cars become, they won’t sell if gas stays cheap. That was the message from Mike Jackson, CEO of AutoNation, the country’s largest auto retailer. “There’s never been a more exciting time from a technical point of view about what’s going to happen to our [automobile] products,” said Jackson, speaking at the wrap-up lunch at this week’s Electric Drive Transportation Association conference in Washington, DC. “We have the greatest chance ever to go in a different way, but I’m not sure it’s going to happen the way everybody thinks.” He encouraged the audience to think of the issue in terms of doughnuts and broccoli.
Hydrogen Backers Punch Back at Plug-in Car Supporters: Last week, the federal government’s hydrogen wing issued a report concluding that plug-in hybrids will not produce significant savings of either greenhouse gas emission or fuel consumption for at least another two decades. With the report, they punched back against government supporters of plug-in hybrids. But did they hit below the belt with bad research?
Copenhagen Conference Faces Shortage of Green Cars: More than 40,000 tons of carbon are expected to enter the atmosphere as a result of this week's climate conference in Copenhagen. Most of the emissions will come from transportation. What does the lack of hybrid and electric cars in Copenhagen say about the realities of a green car revolution? And what can President Obama do about it?
Will Plug-in Hybrids Help Obama in Copenhagen?: President Barack Obama will propose that the US dramatically reduces greenhouse emissions when he attends the United Nations Climate Change Conference next month in Copenhagen. According to the administration, a big chunk of the reductions will come from improving vehicle fuel efficiency. But how much will exciting new technologies, like plug-in hybrids, help us reach our climate change goals?
California’s Green Car Roadmap to 2050: One hundred percent of car sales will be zero emission vehicles in 2050. That’s the vision of the California Air Resources Board, explained in a meeting in late October to review the state's zero emission vehicle (ZEV) strategy. The agency calculated where the statewide vehicle fleet should be to meet the state’s greenhouse gas reduction targets in 2050—then worked backwards.
Debate Begins on CAFE Credits for EVs: There’s a new federal proposal on the table to give makers of pure electric cars bonus points to help them meet new tougher fuel economy standards. Joseph White of the Wall Street Journal calls it the auto-industry version of a "buy one, get one free" deal. The debate over CAFE and electric cars is already underway—more than a year from the introduction of the first mainstream electric vehicles. Is it a fair industry incentive or a shell game?
With Budget Shortfalls, Gas Tax Discussion Re-emerges: Politicians are usually afraid to utter the words “gas” and “tax” in the same sentence. Yet, tight government budgets for maintaining roads and highways—rather than concerns about the environment or oil use—are forcing the issue back on the table.
Fox News Attacks US Loans to Fisker and Tesla: According to Fox News, the US Department of Energy threw away nearly $1 billion in loans to Fisker Automotive and Tesla Motors—two Calif.-based auto startups trying to produce the next generation of American-made energy-efficient cars. On several of its shows, including America's Newsroom and Your World, Fox News criticized the loans because Fisker and Tesla currently produce expensive cars that are made in Europe.
Legislators Debate Solo Hybrid Access to Carpool Lanes: In the mixed bag of incentives designed to encourage car shoppers to buy greener cars, access to carpool lanes while driving solo has been one more push in the right direction. But California legislators are now debating if they are setting the standards high enough with hybrids that get 45 mpg—the previous mark to qualify before the program reached its limit of HOV stickers in 2007.
Obama Proposes Rules For Carmakers to Meet 35.5 MPG: In May, President Obama announced new tougher fuel economy standards to take effect in 2012. Yesterday, his administration released the proposed 1,227-page set of regulations for implementing the standards, which require cars to average 35.5 mpg by 2016. As usual, the devil is in the details.