Green Car Advisor
Tax Incentives
October 6, 2008
European automakers today called for $55.2 billion of low-interest loans to help develop greener cars in the fight against climate change, but their request was instantly rebuffed.
"This idea does not even merit discussion," a source at the European Commission said.
An auto industry group claimed the global economic crisis was making it increasingly difficult for carmakers to achieve European Union emissions targets by 18 percent over the next several years.
But the European Commission rejected the demand for a loan that would equate to over one third of the annual EU budget.
A representative for the auto industry group said it was trying to start a discussion of how the EU might support its automakers in a time of change.
The same group has asked the EU to create incentives for motorists to scrap vehicles over eight years old to speed up fleet renewal.
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- Scott Doggett October 6, 2008, 2:12 PM
- Categories:
- Emissions, Fiat, Fuel Economy, Fuels & Technologies, Legislation, Manufacturers, Tax Incentives
October 3, 2008
As the House of Representatives takes up the $700-billion financial system rescue bill today, it automatically will be considering a multi-billion-dollar package of tax breaks for alternative energy programs and plug-in hybrid purchases.
The plug-in and alt-energy credits were tacked onto the bail-out bill in the Senate Monday to short-circuit an impasse that had developed in negotiations with the House and was threatening to kill the measures.
The plug-in hybrid tax credit provision would provide $1 billion in tax credits for purchasers of plug-in hybrids, the amounts varying with the amount of all-electric travel a particular model could provide.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (1)
- John O'Dell October 3, 2008, 4:05 AM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Hybrid, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric, Tax Incentives
- Technorati Tags:
- Plug In Hybrid Tax Credits
, Wall Street Bail Out
September 25, 2008
Been a couple busy days in Congress - would that they were as productive when there weren't a couple of major crises, a hotly contested presidential election and an impending end of session to goose them into action.
On the green car front, our particular area of interest:
The Senate approved a plan for tax credits of up to $7,500 for purchasers of plug-in hybrids; the House passed a measure establishing competitive grants for companies retrofitting or developing new utility and delivery trucks using hybrid-electric technology, and, of course, the House approved $7.5 billion in funding to back up a $25 billion auto industry loan guarantee to help equip factories in the U.S. for building advanced technology and alternate fuel cars and trucks.
The plug-in tax credit is especially noteworthy as the House had been considering a bill of its own that would have limited the maximum credit to $5,000.
Congress-watchers say the Senate version, with its higher limits, is expected to get through the House pretty much unscathed, though, and to be sent to the White House - which already has voiced approval - with the higher tax credit intact.
The Senate measure, part of a broader alternative energy package would establish breaks ranging from $2,250 to $7,500 to purchasers of the cars - which are expected to start hitting commercial fleets late next year and retail showrooms sometime in 2010.
The actual amount of the credit would depend on battery capacity, with General Motors Corp.'s upcoming Chevrolet Volt (November, 2010) qualifying for the full $7,500.
The plug-in hybrid that Toyota is working on probably wouldn't qualify for that much because Toyota is talking about a smaller battery with less all-electric range; the new extended-range EVs that Chrysler suggested this week could come from its Chrysler and Jeep marques probably would get the maximum.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (1)
- John O'Dell September 25, 2008, 12:24 PM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Hybrid, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric, Tax Incentives
- Technorati Tags:
- Advanced Technology Vehicles
, Auto Industry Loan Guarantee, Hybrid Tax Credits
September 17, 2008
Tesla Motors, which recently abandoned plans for a factory in New Mexico after California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger offered the electric vehicle maker a hefty incentive package to settle in his state, has picked a 90-acre location in the heart of Silicon Valley for its new factory and headquarters campus.
The site, in the City of San Jose, will keep the company -- now headquartered in nearby San Carlos -- close to where its engineers and top executives live.
The San Jose Mercury News, which broke the story this morning, quoted San Jose's mayor as saying Tesla hadn't even been looking at his city until he and other officials put together a proposal and took it to the automaker.
Tesla has just begun production of its first car is its two-seat electric roadster (above). The company plans to add a four-door family sedan to its lineup after it completes its new factory -- as early as late 2010.
To lure Tesla, San Jose officials offered a 40-year lease on the city-owned property and said they'd provide the first 10 years rent-free, the Mercury News reported.
Tesla will pay $1.5 million in annual rent during the second 10 years of the lease, and will see its rent increase 2 percent a year for the final two decades.
The city also would seek ways, once tax revenue from the factory starts flowing in, to rebate the fees the company will pay to develop the property.
To lure Tesla away from its New Mexico plan, the governor's office struck a deal in which the state will purchase up to $100 million in factory equipment for the company, then lease it to Tesla in an arrangement that will save the company about $8 million in sales taxes.
California also will provide Tesla up to $1 million in state job-training funds.
The new auto assembly plant and headquarters complex is expected to provide more than 1,000 jobs to the city -- an annual payroll in excess of $100 million.
Tesla plans to pay for the plant from proceeds of a $150 million loan guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Energy plus $100 million it plans to raise in a new round of funding.
John O'Dell, Senior Editor
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (1)
- John O'Dell September 17, 2008, 2:16 PM
- Categories:
- Plug-ins and Electric, Tax Incentives, Tesla
- Technorati Tags:
- Electric Car
, Electric Vehicle, Tesla Moving To San Jose
September 11, 2008
Hardly a day goes by without a webinar or video round table on one alternative fuel or another.
Natural gas, especially, is getting a lot of play, particularly after receivng a big push from oilman turned wind power and natgas prophet T. Boone Pickins.
Critics point out, though, that it is a fossil fuel closely tied to oil drilling and exploration and, although more plentiful than oil, is still a finite resource. They also point out that Pickins stands to make a bundle from increased use of natural gas.
Additionally, the natural gas industry says government incentives will be needed to bring CNG and LNG vehicles into the mainstream, and despite a lot of campaign rhetoric, Congress hasn't been all that freewheeling with tax incentives for alt energy.
E&E TV's OnPoint, produced by the Washington-based Energy and Environment news organization, sat down this week with Richard Kolodziej (above), president of NGVAmerica, the national trade organization for the natural-gas vehicle industry, to get his take on the future of the fuel and the vehicles that use it.
In the interview (click here for the 14-minute video), Kolodziej discusses existing supply and price questions, argues for expanding offshore oil and gas drilling while continuing to support alternatives and outlines the policies and incentives the industry says are needed to accelerate natural gas vehicles into the mainstream.
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- John O'Dell September 11, 2008, 11:49 AM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Natural Gas, Tax Incentives
- Technorati Tags:
- Natural Gas Vehicles Association
, NGVAmerica, Richard Kolodziej
In an event that gives off all kinds of mixed signals, the federal Department of Energy this week dedicated a solar energy system atop its headquarters.
The building is a few blocks from the Capitol, where Congress has failed eight times this year to pass an extension of the federal investment tax credit program that has helped subsidize the nation's nascent solar and wind energy businesses.
While Democrats generally back the stalled solar industry investment tax credit extension, congressional Republicans have been blocking it and the Republican in the White house, while favoring alternative energy in speech after speech, has failed to nudge his party to move on the issue.
Meantime, the Energy Department, whose top administrator is appointed by the president, is boasting this week that the sun now will be providing about 20 percent of the power needed to run its headquarters complex.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- John O'Dell September 11, 2008, 2:45 AM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Legislation, Opinion, Solar, Tax Incentives
- Technorati Tags:
- Solar Energy
, Solar Tax Credit Stalled
July 28, 2008
Well, the car qualifies, but it's the buyers who'll get it -- a $1,300 federal income tax credit.
That's what comes with the first 60,000 of the 2009 Jetta TDIs that Volkswagen dealers sell.
The credit, from the same pot 'o funds that the hybrid credit comes from, is designed to help ease the pocketbook pain of buying greener cars with advanced or alternative -- and thus pricier -- powertrains and fuel systems.
The 50-state-legal '09 Jetta TDI, which hits dealer showrooms in late August (most dealers are limited to a single demonstration model right now), is priced $2,000 higher than the standard gasoline model, so the credit will lower the diesel premium to just $700.
The diesel Jetta has recently been rated for fuel efficiency by the Environmental Protection Agency at 30 mpg in the city and 41 mpg on the highway -- in a test that the government acknowledges wasn't designed to properly rate diesels and tends to understate actual mileage. A test commissioned by VW showed better numbers of 38 miles per gallon in the city and 44 on the highway.
Using the lower EPA fuel economy numbers, it looks as if TDI owners will be able to save enough on fuel to pay off the price difference in a reasonable amount of time.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (3)
- John O'Dell July 28, 2008, 10:50 AM
- Categories:
- Diesel, Fuels & Technologies, Tax Incentives, Volkswagen
- Technorati Tags:
- 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI
, Tax Credit
July 15, 2008
Right, threatened Gulf marine life.
A surge in Midwest corn production to meet U.S. demands for ethanol is drastically worsening pollution problems in the Gulf of Mexico, a team of federal and state scientists said today, according to E&E News.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting that a record spike in nutrients from the Mississippi River basin this summer will produce the largest Gulf of Mexico "dead zone" ever.
An area the size of New Jersey is expected to contain dissolved oxygen levels too low to support marine life, the respected subscription service E&E News reported.
Based on data collected by NOAA, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium and Louisiana State University, the predicted 8,800-square-mile hypoxic zone would be 11 percent larger than last year's and the largest since scientists began monitoring the problem in 1985.
In a conference call, scientists attributed the gulf's deteriorating conditions to spikes in runoff of nitrogen and phosphorus, key ingredients in fertilizers needed to sustain record corn harvests in the Midwest.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- Scott Doggett July 15, 2008, 5:15 PM
- Categories:
- Biofuels, Emissions, Ethanol, Fuel Economy, Tax Incentives
July 3, 2008
General Motors' leaders are not nuts, and yet to pour hundreds of millions into a race to launch an electric car - the Chevy Volt - guaranteed to lose money on every unit sold, begins to seem a peculiar strategy for a company in dire liquidity straits.
So says the Wall Street Journal, in a particularly cynical and yet possibly prescient piece. With each hectic advance in the development process, the expected sticker price to consumers has gone up. At last leakage, GM is saying now the Volt may need a sticker price of $45,000.
GM executives justify the costs and risks of the Volt as a way of changing the automaker's image in the minds of consumers and politicians, the article says. To commit a pun, the Volt is GM's vehicle for making a bailout of GM politically acceptable.
The company has already started signaling it expects Washington to provide a whopping $7,000 tax credit to Volt purchasers. In Europe and the U.S., under whatever fuel economy and emissions regulations prevail, GM also expects special favoritism for the Volt.
The goal is to re-enact the flex-fuel hoax, in which GM receives extra credit for making cars that can burn 85 percent ethanol, even if they never see a drop of such fuel.
The article is well worth reading, even if - as it likely will - it leaves you wondering, Does America's largest automaker have to stoop to this nonsense to stay afloat?
Scott Doggett, Contributor
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- Scott Doggett July 3, 2008, 8:01 AM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Chevrolet, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Legislation, Opinion, Plug-ins and Electric, Tax Incentives
June 25, 2008
Chevy Aveo tops ownership cost study. Civic hybrid and other gas-electric vehicles don't fare well because of hybrid premium in initial purtchase price.
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
If saving money is your thing, and in these rugged economic times who isn't into that, then Chevrolet, Honda, Toyota and Nissan all have cars for you.
But they aren't hybrids
Previous studies using Edmunds' True Market Value calculations have shown that the so-called hybrid premium makes it difficult for the fuel-efficient cars and SUVs to save enough on fuel to earn back the higher price automakers charge for the advanced technology packed into a gas-electric powertrain.
Now a new Edmunds.com True Cost to Own study finds that even with their sometimes hefty federal tax credits, hybrids slip well down into the pack when long-term ownership costs are considered.
The Civic Hybrid is No. 14 in the TCO rankings being released today, while the nation's best-selling hybrid, Toyota's Prius, doesn't even make the top 25. It finished 34th overall, although it is in second place among hybrids.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (10)
- John O'Dell June 25, 2008, 3:01 AM
- Categories:
- Chevrolet, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, Honda, Hybrid, Hyundai, Kia, Lexus, Mazda, Nissan, Suzuki, Tax Incentives, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- Cost to Own Hybrid
, Hybrid Cost
June 24, 2008
Congress is vowing to take actions that it believes will reverse runaway crude and gasoline prices. Oil rose above $136 a barrel on Monday – more than double what it cost a year ago – and gas hovered around $4.07 a gallon nationwide.
Lawmakers have introduced nine different bills on speculation, not to mention many more that tackle other causes of escalating fuel and oil prices. Several of the speculation measures have bipartisan support...
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (1)
- Scott Doggett June 24, 2008, 7:46 AM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Courts, Diesel, Emissions, Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Legislation, Natural Gas, Plug-ins and Electric, Tax Incentives
'09 Mercedes-Benz ML 320 BlueTEC may get same tax perk as a hybrid.By Bill Visnic, Senior EditorOfficials at Mercedes-Benz USA are crossing their fingers that their upcoming diesel-powered ’09 models – the ML 320 BlueTEC, GL 320 BlueTEC and R 320 BlueTEC – will enable buyers to claim the same federal tax credit as is currently available to individuals who buy certain hybrid-electric vehicles.
The Environmental Protection Agency is considering Mercedes’ assertion that the new 50-state-legal, diesel-engine Benzes should be in the same category as hybrids that qualify for the federal Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit. Mercedes officials seem confident the diesels will, in the eyes of the EPA, be seen as equally “clean” as hybrids.
“We are waiting for final approval (from the EPA),” said Stephen Cannon, MBUSA vice president, marketing.
A Hefty Premium?For now, Mercedes is mum on the final price of the diesel-powered SUVs and the R-Class wagon-type-thing, which go on sale in October.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (2)
- John O'Dell June 24, 2008, 3:02 AM
- Categories:
- Diesel, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Mercedes-Benz, Tax Incentives
June 23, 2008
Republican John McCain said today that if elected president he would challenge American experts to develop a futuristic battery to power cars and win a $300 million prize.
McCain, a week after taking heat from Democrats for reversing his stance on offshore oil drilling after long opposing it, sought to portray himself as a forward-looking leader on solving America's energy crisis.
With Americans reeling from record-high $4-a-gallon gasoline during the prime summer driving season, both McCain and his Democratic opponent in the November election, Barack Obama, are pressing their proposals for tackling energy problems that are dragging down the U.S. economy.
McCain noted that Brazil has largely weaned itself from oil imports by converting most new cars to flex-fuel capacity that use alcohol-based fuels. Brazil went from 5 percent to 70 percent of flex-fuel new cars in three years, he said.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- Scott Doggett June 23, 2008, 6:48 AM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Emissions, Flex-Fuel, Fuel Economy, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric, Tax Incentives
May 27, 2008
The executive board of the European Union has fired the first shot in a potential transatlantic trade war by agreeing to ask the United States to address allegations its biofuel subsidies amount to an unfair trade practice.
The Guardian, citing confident documents, reported Monday that the European Commission will ask Washington this week to respond to anti-dumping complaints lodged by the European Biodiesel Board.
As we reported in March, a loophole in the 2004 subsidy act lets U.S. fuel blenders claim a $1 per gallon subsidy for entire boatloads of biodiesel produced elsewhere if they add just a dribble of petroleum-based diesel to the shipment before sending it off to Europe for sale.
Upon arrival, the biodiesel often sells at prices up to 30 percent below what European producers must charge...
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- Scott Doggett May 27, 2008, 12:48 PM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Diesel, Legislation, Tax Incentives
May 23, 2008
London's congestion zone also is seen as a partial solution to air quality woes.
By Scott Doggett, ContributorAlthough liable for their own imbibing, motorists have rarely been held accountable for the drinking habits of their cars and trucks.
That's changing.
In recent years, policymakers the world over have taken steps to fight global warming by adopting "accountability" laws or regulations that reward motorists who drive fuel-efficient vehicles and punish motorists who don't. The rules not only address fuel-efficiency, they often are intended to help cities clean up air pollution.
In the United States – the world’s largest petroleum consumer – the picture is considerably different. Here, motorists can still cruise without penalty -- except perhaps scowls from a growing number of fellow commuters -- in hulking vehicles that gulp gasoline and fart rivers of smog.
It's true that some states can require owners of smoky jalopies to make an honest effort to clean them up, but none suspend driving privileges if the efforts are made and the machines still spew black smoke like a wicked witch's broomstick.
And, yes, the U.S. Congress did establish a gas-guzzler tax in 1978 to discourage the production and purchase of gas hogs. But the tax is limited to passenger cars: It does not apply to trucks, minivans and SUVs – all heavy drinkers – or to used vehicles of any size.
Not only that, but there are no laws in America restricting motorists' access to popular destinations such as city centers based on vehicles' mileage or emissions ratings. Although discussions have begun in a few places such as San Francisco, the only city to seriously consider such a measure -- New York -- killed the proposal because of public and business opposition.
Outside the U.S., though, it's a whole 'nother story.
Increasingly, authorities elsewhere are requiring motorists to pay – either financially, through travel restrictions, or both – for the vehicle choices they make. You can drive what you'd like, but be prepared to pay for poor fuel economy and for tailpipe emissions.
Here is a sampling of places where drivers are being held accountable – or soon will be – for the carbon footprints of their motor vehicles.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (5)
- John O'Dell May 23, 2008, 12:15 PM
- Categories:
- China, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation, Tax Incentives
May 16, 2008
A $16.9 billion renewable energy and fuels tax incentive package that includes a first-ever $3,000 credit for purchase of plug-in hybrid vehicles, has made it through the House Ways and Means Committee and is headed for the floor.
The credits are part of a $50 billion tax package.
Among the provisions are a $1.01 per gallon production tax credit for cellulosic ethanol – made form non-edible waste and plant material – and a reduction of the present ethanol blending credit to 45 cents a gallon from 51 cents. Those same credits and reductions are in the Farm Bill that has passed through congress and is on the way to the White House.
The tax measure would increase the credit for installation of E85 ethanol fuel pumps to 50 percent of cost, up from 30 percent, and establishes tax incentives worth $1.4 billion for coal power and gasification projects aimed at capturing and reusing or sequestering carbon emissions.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- John O'Dell May 16, 2008, 9:30 AM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric, Solar, Tax Incentives
March 14, 2008
By Scott Doggett, Contributor
U.S. subsidized biodiesel that can't be sold here is swamping Europe, wreaking financial havoc with many European biodiesel producers.
Adding insult to injury, much of the fuel subsidized by U.S. taxpayers at the rate of $1 a gallon isn’t even made in this country and is giving European motorists a break at the pumps.
A loophole in the 2004 subsidy act let U.S. fuel blenders claim the subsidy for entire boatloads of biodiesel produced elsewhere if they added just a dribble of petroleum-based diesel to the shipment before sending it off to Europe for sale at prices up to 30 percent below what European producers must charge.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (2)
- John O'Dell March 14, 2008, 3:00 AM
- Categories:
- Biofuels, Tax Incentives
February 11, 2008
Tax time commeth, and if you purchased a hybrid or alternative fuel vehicle in the past year, you might have a tax break coming.
If you don't already have that info in hand or want to double check the figures your dealership gave, here are two websites that cover hybrid and alternative fuel tax credits and incentives:
The Internal Revenue Service lists all federal credits for hybrid cars and SUVs on its Qualified Hybrid Vehicles site, and the federal Energy Department has a nifty interactive site that provides info about both federal and state tax and other incentives for alternative fuel and hybrid vehicles.
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- John O'Dell February 11, 2008, 12:50 PM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Tax Incentives
In a damned if you do-damned if you don't sort of move, a Washington state senator has proposed taxing motor vehicles based on fuel economy, in part to replace state revenue lost as motorists cut back on driving in the face of soaring fuel prices.
The measure, Senate Bill 6932, is similar to a bill that recently failed to pass muster in California.
The
California bill, though, would have given rebates to owners of the most efficient vehicles, while the Washington measure envisions a minimum annual tax of $40 even on vehicles that get 50 miles per gallon or better.
The Washington bill seems to penalize motorists for heeding environmentalists' calls to cut back on driving in order to reduce the impact of automotive emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
But Sen. Ed Murray, the Seattle Democrat who is lead author of the measure,
told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper that the bill "finally takes into account global warming [linked] to the responsibility of owning a vehicle."
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (6)
- John O'Dell February 11, 2008, 3:58 AM
- Categories:
- Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation, Tax Incentives
February 8, 2008
Tesla Roadster is about to go to market as company considers public offering.Electric cars aren't the only thing Tesla Motors wants to sell.
The five-year-old company, funded so far with private capital, wants to start selling stock and executives are talking about an initial public offering as early as the end of the year.
A public stock sale would enable Tesla's founders to recoup their investments and profit from the battery and power-management technologies the company has developed in its quest to build a battery-powered electric car with market appeal.
Darryl Siry, Tesla's vice president for marketing, told Green Car Advisor of the plan this week, just as Tesla Chairman Elon Musk was discussing the same at an investors conference in the California desert resort town of Indian Wells, near Palm Springs.
A New Partnership?Musk also raised the possibility of Tesla teaming with another automaker to produce a low-cost, high-volume electric car.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (1)
- John O'Dell February 8, 2008, 1:15 PM
- Categories:
- Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Tax Incentives, Toyota
January 29, 2008
Toyota Aygo city car is typical of low-emission cars selling well in Britain.
Overcome by rising fuel prices and growing environmental concerns, British car buyers are selecting fuel-efficient models in record numbers.
So much so, according to a report from the nation's automakers, that cars with the lowest emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide are set to outsell gas guzzlers for the first time in modern history.
The Brits tax cars according to greenhouse gas emissions – which are directly related to fuel economy – with cars in the least efficient groups charged a so-called road tax of ₤300 pounds (almost $600 at current exchange rates) and those in the most efficient groups taxed at ₤35 or less.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- John O'Dell January 29, 2008, 5:30 PM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Tax Incentives
January 3, 2008
It's not just us!
Analysts at economic consulting powerhouse Global Insight report that new emissions- and fuel economy-based automotive tax programs that began January 1 in France and Spain spurred "panic" buying of big cars in both nations during December.
Global Insight reports that in France, December sales of Mercedes-Benz cars soared by 69.9 percent; BMW sales jumped 38.4 percent and Audi sales rose 25 percent.
In Spain, the rush was for sport-utility vehicles. Sales of SUVs jumped 40.7 percent during the last month of the year, in advance of imposition of what the Spanish call, to Porsche's delight we expect, "el impuesto Cayenne," or the Cayenne tax...
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (1)
- John O'Dell January 3, 2008, 1:27 PM
- Categories:
- Porsche, Tax Incentives
November 23, 2007
By Robert E. Calem, Contributor
It could be the perfect automobile for environment-conscious Americans who are also short on money and time: the NGV, or natural gas vehicle, a near-zero emissions auto powered by an inexpensive, domestically abundant fuel, and granted special single-occupancy access to commuter fast lanes.
Popular in Europe where gasoline prices are exorbitant, NGVs are still rare among alternative fuel vehicles in the U.S. Earlier this decade, citing weak sales, Ford, Chrysler and GM all stopped selling them here, ceding the domestic market to the Honda Civic GX, which has been named the world's cleanest internal combustion engine vehicle.
Through a process called "upfitting," however, some new GM and Ford vehicles can be converted to NGVs, and reap all of the benefits available to Civic GX owners. Those include a federal tax credit and certain local tax credits and incentives aimed at encouraging ownership of natural gas vehicles, as well as relatively cheap fuel prices and, in some states, "driver-only" access to HOV (high-occupancy vehicle) lanes on arterial highways.
As gasoline prices climb, U.S. sales to everyday folks of the Civic GX and of NGV conversions are on an upswing, people close to the market say.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (6)
- John O'Dell November 23, 2007, 3:23 PM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Natural Gas, Tax Incentives
October 9, 2007
Will residents of the San Fransisco Bay area agree to raise the price of gasoline in the nine-county area to help battle global warming?
The idea of a regional gas tax increase has surfaced, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, in discussions among members of the Bay Area Rapid Transit Authority, or BART, and a variety of business and civic groups.
The thinking, it seems, is that predominately liberal voters in the region might be willing to add a dime to the price they pay for gasoline if the funds -- an additional $300 million a year -- were earmarked to help cut carbon emissions by encourage car pooling, use of mass transit and other programs to reduce use of private vehicles
If the idea moves from board room to ballot booth, it could jump-start a copycat movement in other parts of California, in other states, and maybe even in Washington, where Congress has been notoriously weak-kneed about tinkering with the gas tax (the federal gasoline tax is 18.4 cents a gallon; California's state tax is 18 cents).
After all, an increase in what Americans have to pay for their principal automotive fuel would go a lot further than a CAFE increase in persuading us to cut back on car travel, in prodding automakers to come out with more fuel-efficient cars and trucks, and in pushing fuel companies to speed development of alternative fuels that could wean us from our national oil addiction.
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (2)
- John O'Dell October 9, 2007, 1:01 AM
- Categories:
- Tax Incentives
September 26, 2007
The federal tax credits that helped pump up hybrid car sales for Toyota and Honda are winding down.
The program, established in the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005, rewards success by disappearing in several stages after a carmaker sells 60,000 hybrids. Toyota’s Prius hit that mark last year, and Honda’s Civic hybrid crossed the threshold last month.
Buyers of the 2007 Civic hybrid can still receive a $2,100 credit on cars purchased through December 31...
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (5)
- John O'Dell September 26, 2007, 8:13 AM
- Categories:
- Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Nissan, Tax Incentives, Toyota
