Car pool lane & hybrids
Lexus GS 450h gets the car pool lane.
"The nearly $60,000 hybrid is eligible for tax breaks and single-occupancy transport in high-occupancy-vehicle lanes, although it gets 28 miles per gallon.
The 2007 Toyota Yaris, which starts at $10,950 and gets 40 miles per gallon on the highway with a traditional gasoline engine, gets none of those breaks."
To me, the rules and regulations of the land have no business encouraging a technology, like hybrid. Instead they should be encouraging fuel efficiency, irrespective of how it is achieved. The government should say: "Any car that gets more than 45 miles/gallon gets to use the car pool lane."
That way, the government need not worry whether a technology a car manufacturer selects to use is going to work or not. Thats not a government's job. It should just set a target (for fuel efficieny) and reward those who achieve it.
Some might say, the hybrid technology brings to the table an improvement in efficiency to existing cars and thats good and needs to be encouraged. Well, does making a 20 miles/gallon car give 28 miles/gallon mark an improvement worthy of tax breaks and car pool lane? Certainly not. While its an improvement, its not good enough. Improvements from a very low reference point are easier to achieve and less than say, improvements achieved on a car that already gives 35 miles/gallon. The rewards should be commensurate with the benefits to the environment achieved, not based on whether a particular technology is used on not. When the overall impact to the environment from the additional batteries in the hybrid still under debate, I am not sure if the owners should be rewarded yet for low levels of improvements.
"The nearly $60,000 hybrid is eligible for tax breaks and single-occupancy transport in high-occupancy-vehicle lanes, although it gets 28 miles per gallon.
The 2007 Toyota Yaris, which starts at $10,950 and gets 40 miles per gallon on the highway with a traditional gasoline engine, gets none of those breaks."
To me, the rules and regulations of the land have no business encouraging a technology, like hybrid. Instead they should be encouraging fuel efficiency, irrespective of how it is achieved. The government should say: "Any car that gets more than 45 miles/gallon gets to use the car pool lane."
That way, the government need not worry whether a technology a car manufacturer selects to use is going to work or not. Thats not a government's job. It should just set a target (for fuel efficieny) and reward those who achieve it.
Some might say, the hybrid technology brings to the table an improvement in efficiency to existing cars and thats good and needs to be encouraged. Well, does making a 20 miles/gallon car give 28 miles/gallon mark an improvement worthy of tax breaks and car pool lane? Certainly not. While its an improvement, its not good enough. Improvements from a very low reference point are easier to achieve and less than say, improvements achieved on a car that already gives 35 miles/gallon. The rewards should be commensurate with the benefits to the environment achieved, not based on whether a particular technology is used on not. When the overall impact to the environment from the additional batteries in the hybrid still under debate, I am not sure if the owners should be rewarded yet for low levels of improvements.
posted by d'na | 2:59 PM
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