Is the EPA Setting Us Up?

The EPA is currently working out the EPA standards on electric and plug-in electric vehicles and there's been quite a lot of debate on how, why, who, what, etc... But this is the first time I've seen the values being labeled as outright fraudulence:

Using the DOE’s apples to apples methodology, the MPGe of the Nissan Leaf is not 99 but 36! Now, 36 is a good mileage number, but it is pretty pedestrian compared to the overblown expectations for electric vehicles, and is actually lower than the EPA calculated mileage of a number of hybrids and even a few traditional gasoline-powered vehicles like the Honda CR-Z. (Source: Forbes blog)

I don't agree with his argument at the end on tailpipe emissions, although I understand it. But in the long run, it's actually easier to mandate the power sources for emissions than it is each car.  And the analogy he uses for the main subject matter is definitely stretching things...

So is the EPA setting us up for a long term failure? Are we being fooled by the electric dream?

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Do We Really Want Green Cars

According to US News and World Report, "Despite all the hype surrounding hybrid and electric cars, some people just aren’t buying it. According to a new study, “some people” are most consumers."

That really doesn't cut it with me. Despite the hype and the hysteria surrounding the sales of hybrids, most people don't take into account hybrid car costs. But even though hybrid cars and SUVs are still luxury items, over 1% of the US market comes from Prius sales.

Let me repeat that in a slightly different way: 1 out of every 100 cars sold is a Prius.

There are very few cars that can say they make up such a large percentage of US consumers.  There are even fewer luxury cars that even come close to it.  Other hybrid cars aren't as fuel efficient, aren't as inexpensive and just plain aren't as good as the Prius. Which is why the Prius still dominates the hybrid car market place.

In the same article, JD Powers and Associates predicts that by 2020, over 7 percent of the passenger vehicles sold will be hybrids. Do you know of any other luxury option that will be doing as well?

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