Used hybrid values have "fallen off a cliff"
As we’re sure you’ve noticed every time you’ve gone to refill your gas tank in the last few months, gas is once again relatively cheap. Just under a year ago, the price for a gallon of fuel was about double what it is today in most parts of the country, and those high costs were driving the sales of hybrids – both new and used – to record levels. Now? Well, not so much. According to Kelley Blue Book , used hybrid prices have fallen by an amazing 23.5 percent since last summer, and 4.5 percent of that has come in the first two months of 2009. It’s not just fuel prices that are causing hybrid values to plummet. Due to the lack of discretionary spending money and despite the savings on each tank of gas, the extra cost associated with a hybrid at the time of initial purchase is something that many buyers are unwilling to consider. Perhaps there’s a positive side to this story. Buyers looking to get a good deal on a used hybrid should have plenty of options to consider. Then, when the price of fuel inevitably climbs back up, you can laugh all the way to the bank. [Source: USA Today ] Auto Blog: Hybrid , Green Daily Used hybrid values have “fallen off a cliff” originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Sat, 07 Mar 2009 19:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green
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Used hybrid values have "fallen off a cliff"
Obama’s signature on Stimulus Bill earns praise
Click above for an interactive timeline As we noted over the weekend, the Stimulus Bill that moved through Congress contains a lot of help for plug-in vehicles. As you might expect, the advocacy group Plug In America is quite pleased that President Obama signed the bill today (see full statement after the jump). While there is PHEV love in the bill – including $2 billion for advanced battery technologies – hard-hit PHEV-hopeful cities like Flint, Michigan don’t necessarily see a lot of help now that the Chevy Volt’s future in the city is uncertain. In fact, aside from a tax credit worth up $2,500 to for pure electric low-speed vehicles, cleaner vehicles (i.e., hybrids) available on the lot today don’t get a lot of help. HybridCars says that plug-in hybrid conversions can qualify for a tax credit of up to 10 percent of the cost of the conversion, if it’s done by an authorized firm before the end of 2011. The bill also allows people who earn less than $125,000 individually, or $250,000 jointly, to deduct the sales tax on a new car. Quite a bit there, but is it enough? What’s your take? [Source: WaPo , Plug In America , HybridCars ] Continue reading Obama’s signature on Stimulus Bill earns praise Auto Blog: Legislation and Policy , USA Obama’s signature on Stimulus Bill earns praise originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 17 Feb 2009 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green
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Obama’s signature on Stimulus Bill earns praise
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Leave a commentGM files restructuring plan, includes eco-friendly cars, asks for up to $16.6 billion more money
Click above for a high res gallery of the 2011 Chevy Volt Shortly after Chrysler submitted its updated restructuring plan to Congress, General Motors followed suit with its own document that is supposed to detail a return to sustainable profitability within the next 24 months. As you’d expect, fuel efficiency plays a major part of GM’s future goals, with the automaker saying that “All major introductions in 2009-2014 are high-mileage cars and crossovers.” Moving forward, GM will focus on Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac, with Pontiac serving as a “niche product” and Saab and HUMMER leaving the fold entirely. As far as future product is concerned, the Chevy Volt figures prominently in GM’s plans and is slated for a 2010 release. By 2014, GM says its cars will average 38.6 miles per gallon and its trucks will average 27.6 mpg, improvements of 7.6 and 3.6 mpg respectively. Like Chrysler, GM promises to comply with federal fuel economy mandates but makes no mention of California’s request for its own emissions standards. None of this matters at all if GM isn’t able to keep its factories humming, and GM says that an additional $16.6 billion in loans will be necessary to ensure survival, bringing the total amount of requested as a revolving line of credit to $30 billion. We’ve pasted the full press release after the break, but there’s plenty more in the official and highly detailed 117-page document, which can be downloaded in its entirety as a PDF file here . Click here for Autoblog’s coverage. Gallery: 2011 Chevy Volt [Source: GM] Continue reading GM files restructuring plan, includes eco-friendly cars, asks for up to $16.6 billion more money Auto Blog: GM , Legislation and Policy , USA GM files restructuring plan, includes eco-friendly cars, asks for up to $16.6 billion more money originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green
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GM files restructuring plan, includes eco-friendly cars, asks for up to $16.6 billion more money
Posted in Auto Green | a-2010-release-, a-tax-credit, chevrolet, chevy-volt, economy, gmbailout, sales, signed-the-bill, usa | Leave a commentStimulus bill pumps up plug-ins, public transit, trains, smart grid
Click above and scroll down to watch the video I heard a phrase on the radio yesterday that described the unappetizing way the stimulus bill was crafted in Congress this past week: emergency sausage. However it was crafted, the deed is now done. The overall impact of the bill is being covered by everyone everywhere, so we’ll focus on the green transportation items that were included in the final bill, which is on its way to the President’s desk. The big winners were trains and plug-in cars. As the Environmental Law & Policy Center and CNN note, high-speed and inner-city rail made out like bandits. The first version of the stimulus bill, written in the House, set aside $300 million for these trains. This ballooned to $8 billion – along with $6.9 billion for public transportation and $1.3 billion for Amtrak – by the time it was done. Plug-in vehicles – as well as hybrids and fuel cell EVs – get a $2 billion investment for advanced battery technologies. The number of vehicles that are eligible for the plug-in electric drive vehicle credit jump up to 200,000 vehicles per manufacturer. The EDTA is happy with that, but is disappointed that the PHEV credit is capped at $7,500 and doesn’t apply to big vehicles (those that weigh over 14,000 lbs). An upgraded smart grid is helped out by $4.5 billion for development and deployment. Traditional cars don’t lose out, either. People who buy a new car in 2009 and who earn less than $125,000 individually or $250,000 jointly can deduct the sales tax. What does it all mean? Well, that’s something which won’t be clear for a while. CalCars , though, is optimistic: “Taken in combination with other external factors, this could be the beginning of the breakthrough we’ve been hoping for,” they write. You can watch a video of the President discussing the stimulus package after the jump. Thanks to Peter G. for sending some of this in. [Source: CNN , EDTA , Environmental Law & Policy Center , CalCars ] Continue reading Stimulus bill pumps up plug-ins, public transit, trains, smart grid Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Hybrid , Legislation and Policy , Green Daily , USA Stimulus bill pumps up plug-ins, public transit, trains, smart grid originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Sat, 14 Feb 2009 11:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green
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Stimulus bill pumps up plug-ins, public transit, trains, smart grid
Posted in Auto Green, Hybrids | breakthrough, congress, policy-center, president, president obama, sales, stimulus, stimuluspackage | Leave a commentJanuary 2009 Dashboard: Hybrid Pickups Arrive
> Subscribe to the HybridCars.com Market Dashboard The entire auto market continued to slide, bringing hybrid sales along with it. But there’s good news: General Motors began shipping full-hybrid pickup trucks, opening up the hybrid market to a new pool of buyers. Hybrid Heatmap In this month’s version, we take a look at sales of hybrids produced exclusively by domestic automakers: GM, Ford and Chrysler. With the emergence of hybrid pickup trucks, we wondered if buyers of domestic hybrids were coming from a different part of the country than the larger hybrid market. After adjusting the sales numbers based on population, we see that California remains a hotspot—but the Midwest is stronger while much of the Northeast (except for the DC area) shows less hybrid popularity. Analysis of January 2009 Sales Numbers "Top 5 global hybrid markets" based on vehicle registrations CYTD November 2008. and "Top 5 US hybrid markets" based on vehicle registrations CYTD November 2008. The beginning of 2009 was much like the end of 2008 for auto markets: showrooms stayed quiet, credit remained tight, and sales continued to slide. Overall, auto sales were down 38 percent compared with last January; brands like General Motors and Chrysler saw more severe declines as their volumes were cut in half. Although hybrids outperformed the market slightly, sales of hybrid models were still far below typical levels. read more
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January 2009 Dashboard: Hybrid Pickups Arrive
Posted in Hybrids | a-new-pool, bringing-hybrid, emergence, heatmap, hybrid, hybrid market dashboard, hybrid-pickups, market, news, sales | Leave a commentVW Confirms Production of Touareg Hybrid
Last week, we reported that Volkswagen was testing a hybrid version of the Touareg SUV. Our sources now tell us that the Touareg Hybrid has been upgraded from prototype status to an official production vehicle with a target release date in 2011. Volkswagen Touareg V6 TSI Bluemotion Under new management at VW, the company’s hybrid strategy has shifted from applying gas-electric technology to small cars to larger more expensive vehicles. The Touareg V6 TSI Hybrid will be VW’s first production hybrid vehicle. It will hit the European market next year, and arrive in the US by the middle of 2011. A company spokesperson said the gas-electric SUV will offer “maximum power with minimum consumption,” thanks to a supercharged direct-injected V6 engine tied to a 38 kilowatt electric motor. The hybrid variant will join the standard gasoline model and a forthcoming diesel-powered version—which replaces the V10 TDI, a vehicle which had the dubious distinction as the dirtiest vehicle on the market according to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy. As a full hybrid vehicle, the Touareg will achieve an estimated 26 miles per gallon in combined driving. That’s a 15 percent improvement over the gas-powered Touareg. And in city driving, the Touareg hybrid is expected to beat out most large SUVs by as much as 25 percent. It will also offer electric-only operation at speeds up to 30 miles per hour. read more
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VW Confirms Production of Touareg Hybrid
Plug-in Hybrids Roll On, in Stimulus Package
President Barack Obama said yesterday that building more efficient vehicles, such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, is a critical part of stimulating the economy and helping the auto industry to retool. The president’s plans were supported by the Senate’s compromise economic stimulus bill that includes tax credits for buyers and manufacturers of plug-in hybrid vehicles, as well as $2 billion in direct grants for battery development and manufacturing. It also includes a tax break for new-car buyers and money for the federal government to buy plug-in hybrids and flex-fuel vehicles. Speaking at a town hall meeting in Elkhart, Ind., Obama said, “If we don’t use this crisis as an opportunity to start retooling, then we will never catch up and be able to compete effectively against Japanese automakers, Korean automakers.” The Senate held a key procedural vote yesterday evening on the $838-billion stimulus bill, setting up passage today and then a conference committee with the House to determine what the final version should look like. The Senate bill contained these key provisions regarding plug-in hybrid vehicles: The number of plug-in vehicles eligible for a tax credit of $7,500 to $15,000, for passenger vehicles and trucks respectively, was doubled from 250,000 to 500,000. Conversions of conventional vehicles to plug-in hybrids will receive tax credits of up to 10 percent—with a cap of $4,000 for a $40,000 conversion. Conversions must be “qualified” by appropriate federal agencies. Eligible vehicles will include vehicles with leased batteries, as well as two- and three-wheel vehicles, and some neighborhood electric vehicles. Incentives could start immediately upon signing of the bill into law. The “Cash for Clunkers” provision, which would provide coupons for consumers to sell old gas-guzzling vehicles and buy new fuel-efficient models, was dropped. If these provision remain in the final version, Obama will move closer to achieving his goal of putting 1 million plug-in hybrid cars on the road by 2015. read more
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Plug-in Hybrids Roll On, in Stimulus Package
Posted in Hybrids | a-critical-part, a-full-hybrid, a-tax-break, a-tax-credit, a-town-hall, crisis, energy, final, hybrid-pickups, Hybrids, incentives and laws, japanese, news, said-the-gas, sales | Leave a commentGreen Car Summit: fiery debate in D.C. on policy, pressure and people
Auto Blog: Ethanol , EV/Plug-in , Hydrogen , AutoblogGreen Exclusive , Legislation and Policy , Natural Gas , Green Daily , Washington DC Auto Show Click on the image above for a gallery of the panelists Before the Washington Auto Show starts up for real tomorrow, a very spirited debate took place as part of the Green Car Summit . The topics: legislation, consumer desires, fuel-saving technologies and a whole lot more. The panelists: Johan de Nysschen, president of Audi America Bill Reinert, national manager, advanced technology group, Toyota Motor Sales Alan Neidzwiecki, president and CEO of Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide William Craven, general manager, regulatory affairs, Daimler Richard Kolodziej, president, NGVAmerica, the trade association for natural gas vehicles Britta Gross, manager, hydrogen and electrical infrastructure Dan Weiss, senior fellow and director of climate strategy, Center for American Progress Unlike some panels featuring people with different agendas, this one was a bit of a powder keg – and moderators Warren Brown (Washington Post) and Ron Cogan (Green Car Journal, the event sponsor) were happy to let the panelists shoot off their own sparks. Details and audio available after the jump. Continue reading Green Car Summit: fiery debate in D.C. on policy, pressure and people Green Car Summit: fiery debate in D.C. on policy, pressure and people originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 02 Feb 2009 20:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green
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Green Car Summit: fiery debate in D.C. on policy, pressure and people
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