Hybrid vehicles offer a wealth of benefits
I feel that on the issue of gasoline and the government trying to push hybrid vehicles on the public, why doesn't the government mandate that all state, local and national agencies use hybrid vehicles? This includes all gas-driven vehicles used for mass transportation, company use and law enforcement.
Also, the government could give tax advantages to taxi companies and businesses that switch their vehicles to hybrids. Since these vehicles are on the road more hours per day than the average citizen's vehicle, this would save billions of gallons of gas and lower gas prices for the consumers, which would then in turn help strengthen the economy.
For law enforcement, this would also open up thought processes about how to prevent high-speed pursuits since hybrid vehicles are not performance-oriented, also saving innocent lives taken in out-of-control highway pursuits.
Franklin Nix
Asheboro
Comments (7)
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Stop making sense, Franklin.
Goverment subsidized Hummers: -- there is the 6000 pound rule. If you're a business (which doesn't take much to become) transportation purchases on anything weighing over 6000 pounds can be a deduction. If you want a Hummer, and have the cash .. it's "Capital Equipment", adn depending on the business model you establish, the money can come off the top - you pay NO taxes while other American taxpayers pick up your tab - up to $100,000 in 2003/2004.
It WAS $30,000: http://www.detnews.com/2002/autosinsider/0212/18/c01-38875
"At the same time the tax code sanctions $30,000 write-offs for SUVs, prospective purchasers of a fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles qualify for a relatively small $4,000 tax credit."
... but "In 2003, lawmakers expanded the tax deduction to a whopping $100,000 as part of the $350 million tax cut package"
http://www.selfemployedweb.com/suv-tax-loophole-2.htm
As the Ditto-Head-Shots do - let me hammer this: you deduct it - other American tax payers pick up your tab.
It was recently "rolled back" to $25,000 with the hybrid incentives totally eliminated, however the latest rules put back a token hybrid incentive.
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People think I'm a liberal, but actually, I'm a conservative. My take on oil is an example: STOP drilling for oil here. Use up all the stuff elsewhere, and in 50 years, we'll have The Worlds Supply. That's Conservation.
Posted on November 7, 2005 6:07 AM
Can we give the cops rubber bullets and toy handcuffs too?
Don't mean to knock the writer, I'm in agreement that hybrids would be useful in many government applications, but law enforcement isn't one of them. Ditto for the military, hybrid humvees?
From what I have heard the gas savings doesn't make up for the extra markup you pay on hybrids. I would consider one when they are more economical to buy and larger than the puny ones on the market today.
The thing I'm curious about with hybrids, they are so new at this point there probably aren't a lot with 100K miles yet. They are also highly complicated: gas engine, electric motor, complex computer systems. I wonder what kind of maintenance & repairs they will require when they have higher mileage, if it would be significantly higher than a standard vehicle? There are probably few mechanics who can work on them except the dealer, which guarantees higher repair costs. This could eat into the "gas savings" dividend.
JDR, I'm a conservative too and agree with you that a tax write off on Hummers and the like is bad policy.
Posted on November 7, 2005 7:34 AM
New Toyota Prius, $23,000, 60 mpg
New Toyota Matrix $14,000 36 mpg
$9000 difference in price. 24 mpg difference in MPG.
At $3.00/gallong and an average mileage of 15,000 per year, the Prius spends $750 for gas while the Matrix spends $1,250.
$500 per year difference ($10 week) in fuel costs between the two.
$9,000 price difference in vehicles. It would take 18 years to break even on the fuel savings utility.
However, when gas gets to around $10/gallon the hybrid will break even in about 5 years.
Posted on November 7, 2005 8:12 AM
I don't know about the mileage of a Matrix, but I bet the Prius can't get very close to the 60 mpg I get in everyday driving on my Insight. I paid $23,000 for my car to move up from a 30 mpg Civic that was on its last legs.
Whether it pays for itself in gas is only part of its value. In the course of an average week, I burn about half what I used to. When I was living close to my work a couple of years ago, I was filling the tank once a month. I think that sort of scenario is worth a few extra bucks a month for the lifetime of this car.
Posted on November 7, 2005 9:09 AM
Here's my opinion of what the hybrid is good for: it is a vehicle that the enviromentalists can drive and tell themselves that they are the savior of the planet. Other than that they are too expensive and too small for my use.
Also my son does body work at a local shop and they had one of these little tennis shoes in a couple of weeks ago that had been rear ended. Cost to repair body dammage- around $1,600. Cost to replace the battery (the battery case had been cracked during the accident) $5,000. The vehicle was a total loss because of the battery.
Posted on November 7, 2005 3:23 PM
Light bulbs use to be VERY EXPENSIVE too.
My first computer was a 286 with a whoppingly tiny hard-drive and 8 memory things and cost about a zillion 1986 dollars.
Posted on November 7, 2005 9:24 PM
Sounds like a great idea to me. Guess who will pay for it.
Posted on November 10, 2005 12:52 PM