Pirate's Cove

Chuck Schumer has a plan

So, Chuck, what kind of car do you drive? How about your staff and Dem colleagues?

— William Teach2 ??????? #refuseresist (@WTeach2) October 25, 2019

I don’t feel like giving the NY Times a hit, so

(WRAL) Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is moving Democrats’ climate talk to where the rubber meets the road, proposing a $462 billion trade-in program to get millions of Americans out of climate-damaging gas vehicles and into electric or hybrid cars over the next decade.

Schumer’s rebate proposal late Thursday joins a mix of trillion- and multitrillion-dollar programs that Democratic presidential candidates have outlined to urgently cut oil, gas and coal emissions, as climate change weighs as an issue in the 2020 campaigns.

Schumer said the “proposal to bring clean cars to all of America” would be a key part of climate legislation by Senate Democrats. The injection of government-supported spending for electric cars “could position the U.S. to lead the world in clean auto manufacturing,” he said.

The New York Democrat’s plan would give American car buyers thousands of dollars each to trade in gas-burning cars for U.S.-assembled electric, hybrid or hydrogen cell cars. Lower-income households, and buyers of cars with American-made parts, would get extra credits.

About $45 billion would go to boost availability of charging stations and other electric car infrastructure. And $17 billion would help automakers increase their production of electric cars, batteries and parts.

One thing Chuck forgot? How this will be paid for. Realistically, I have no problem with offering tax credits, and even expanding them for hybrids that are no longer eligible. What a lot of people do not know is that once so many of a model have been sold credits are no longer offer, such as the Prius or Accord Hybrid. That would probably be the best way to go.

But, people aren’t really all that interested in practice in buying hybrids, not when sedans and even compact SUVs can get pretty decent mileage. I get about 29+ in my Accord Sport (most of my driving is around town). But, look, a top end Civic, the Touring, gets 30 city/38 highway and goes for $28,220, and has 174 horsepower. An Insight Touring (I’m using this because it is essentially a Civic hybrid) gets 51 city/45 highway, but only 151hp, for $29,110. And has a few less features. And that price difference is closer than most (can’t compare Accord to hybrid Accord, very different engines) vehicle lines.

Toyota just came out with a hybrid RAV4 and Honda is coming out with a hybrid CRV early 2020. Will they sell? Good question. There’s a lot of interest, but, interest doesn’t equate to sales. People were very interested in the plugin Clarity, but, sales were dismal, even in California, after the initial quick sales.

I do like hybrids, I would have been interested in the Insight EX had it leased well, and that is another big problem. The cost differential is worth it if you drive a lot more than average, are going to keep it a long time, or going to lease it. But, hybrids have poor residual values (what the car is worth after 36 months and 60 months, as measured), so, leasing is only worth it IF there is massive backend money. A lot of what creates a residual is what people feel it is worth. If I say “Jaguar” you think “I need 2, because one is always in the shop.” Even though they are much more reliable, they can’t shake the reputation, hence, not worth as much for the residual. People fear hybrid/electric batteries dying by 100K miles, so, market value is lower than it should be. In reality, the batteries, at least in true hybrids, should give you 200-300K miles before replacing. But, people’s feelings aren’t changing at this time.

Oh, and when will Chuck switch his own vehicle to a hybrid?