Sunday, February 19, 2012

ELECTRIC CAR REBATE

Well, President Obama released his new budget plan. We are already tired of hearing both sides praise and condemn the proposal. It's just another source for the pundits and news channels to keep the fight going and make commercial money.
What few people know is that deep in the budget, there is a very green nugget. It's an incentive to spark  additional sales of electric vehicles. Pun intended.

Imagine a rebate of $10K toward the initial purchase of a Chevy Volt, Mitsubishi i or Nissan LEAF. Any one of those would end up around the $20-30K rate with such a chunk of cash. That's quite a difference from the $7K tax credit program associated with electric cars today.

There are already quite a few here in Kingston believe it or not. I have had the pleasure of crossing driveways when an electric car starts to back out. There is no sound from one of these things, so if you don't see a driver, you might want to pay a little more attention. Manufacturers have decided to include a back up sound in the 2012 models.

Is this enough for those who were on the fence to finally buy an EV? I should think so. The rebate would apply to other alternativ-fuel vehicles, too, like natural gas, hydrogen fuel cell or other high-tech green vehicles.

Like any good idea, it's got to get through Congress. What kind of record does Congress have this session? Not so good. Have they made any significant signs of progress in recent years...Nope. Will this EV rebate ever reach the consumer? I can answer this one...Maybe. It's might be during the next session of Congress but probably not this one. You see, the EV flies in the face of big oil companies. Most of these clowns are owned by those same companies. America would have to want to change the members of congress who are owned by such companies.

The insertion of the EV $10K rebate is a wonderful idea, this country needs it, but I sincerely doubt this Congress will act in our favor. After all, this looks like a possitve for Obama during an election cycle. 

We know Hinchey will vote in favor of the measure, but we have little influence elsewhere. The EV Rebate is necessary. The whole budget is necessary. Here's to crossing our fingers and hoping for the best.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

With all you do for the city, bartending and volunteerism, how do you still find the time to Blog? I too want to see more EV's around Kingston, but havent found any insights regarding this rebate before. Yet here you are giving us a little snippet on the issue.
Incredible.

Anonymous said...

Just wait. The oil wars are just beginning. Hint; the transpacific shipping industry isn't going to run without oil. This rebate isn't any old perk, its a coming necessity.