15.1 mpg is not enough

Published Wednesday, August 3, 2005, in the Sacramento Bee

Editorial

Hybrid hypocrisy
Gas guzzlers get breaks too.

Hybrid cars, which can switch between battery-powered electric
motors and gasoline engines, are the latest, hippest symbols of
green technology. They are widely viewed as a way for Americans to
save money, lessen the nation's dependence on foreign oil and reduce
pollution. The early hybrid models did just that. But in a quest for
better performance, many of the latest models, which critics have
dubbed "muscle hybrids," sacrifice fuel economy for power.

The federal transportation and energy bills awaiting the president's
signature recognize hybrids' fuel saving potential. Unfortunately,
neither measure makes a useful distinction between good hybrids and
bad.

The bill expands tax breaks for all hybrid cars, giving hybrid
buyers not just tax deductions, as previous laws did, but straight,
dollar-for-dollar tax credits of up to $3,000.

Under the bill, the higher the fuel efficiency, the higher the
credit. That's not a bad thing -- except that the tax credit is
based on weight class. So buyers of gas-guzzling hybrids, a big SUV
or pickup that uses some hybrid technology, but gets as little as
15.1 miles per gallon, can still qualify for a federal tax credit.
That's absurd.

The law also apportions the credits among car manufacturers,
allowing for a tax break on only the first 60,000 hybrids sold. So
by 2007, buyers of the fast-selling Toyota Prius hybrid that gets
60 mpg in the city won't receive any tax credits at all, while
buyers of GM's Chevy Silverado hybrid pickup truck, which gets only
17 mpg, would qualify for more than $1,000 in federal tax breaks.
That's no path to energy independence.

The federal transportation bill contains another ill-considered
provision that would permit states to allow drivers of all hybrid
cars to use carpool lanes. Even had the federal transportation bill
limited carpool lane access to the most fuel-efficient hybrids, as
California law does, it would still be bad public policy.

Carpool lanes were not created primarily to save fuel, but to reduce
congestion. In already crowded urban areas, allowing solo drivers
in hybrids access to carpool lanes could clog those lanes, reducing
incentives for drivers to carpool. It also makes it harder for
police to enforce the law. Now traffic cops can merely look to see
if a solo driver is in the carpool lane to know a violation's been
committed. Under the new federal energy measure, that same cop has
to find a sticker that permits some solo drivers to use the lane.
It's confusing both to the cops and other drivers.

The federal energy and transportation bills tried to send a signal
on hybrids and fuel efficiency. Unfortunately, that signal is mostly
muddled.