Green forced down our throats

Last week, the California Air Resources Board approved new emission rules for cars and light trucks that will add to the burden of consumers.

The board’s action, which requires no legislative or voter approval, includes a mandate that 1.4 million electric and hybrid vehicles will be on state roads by 2025.

Now, the action by the governor-appointed board which answers to no one, not even the governor, does not say how Californians will be able to afford the extra costs for the vehicles or how the infrastructure will be created to support those vehicles. Of course, there is no mention as to where will the electricity come from to power those vehicles.

The Air Board claims drivers will save $5 billion in operating costs in 2025, and $10 billion by 2030 when more advanced cars are on the road. It also says that in 2025, average consumers will see nearly $6,000 in fuel cost savings over the life of the car, nearly triple the estimated per vehicle cost.

How many have owned a car “for the life of the vehicle.” Most people only keep a vehicle 5-7 years, while the life of that vehicle could be 20 or even 30 years. That means the savings is more likely to be  about $1,600 for the person first purchasing it, hardly enough to offset the extra cost for an electric or hybrid vehicle.

Based on the air board’s figures, a clean air vehicle runs $1,400 to $1,900 higher to purchase than a conventional gas-powered vehicle. We seriously question those figures. Some have put the cost difference at several thousands of dollars, but of course the government has stepped in with rebates that make the price more appealing. However, those rebates are paid for by taxpayers and will not last foreever.

In fact, at just about every turn there is another rebate or government incentive to get electric cars more mainstream. Subsidizing the green industry is big government business. There are currently government subsidies for battery manufacturing, charging stations and of course, purchasing new vehicles. There is a $7,500 tax credit on the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf, yet buyers are not flocking to the dealerships. A Volt tops out at more than $40,000. You can purchase a nice Malibu for about $30,000.

Then, there are the repairs and insurance. It takes a much higher trained mechanic to repair an electric or hybrid vehicle and replacement costs for batteries is high. A battery, which typicaly can take only 4,000 charges before needing replacment, can run about $5,000.

Now, proponents will argue the decision is good for the environment and that the air will be cleaner and America will be less dependent on foreign oil. We don’t dispute that, but shouldn’t the choice be up to the consumer, not forced upon them?

If consumers were ready for electric or hybrid vehicles then the marketplace would be working. Enough cars would be sold to bring down the price, but in this economy consumers are not ready to jump on the green bandwagon. Officials are actually hoping for higher gas prices. One Democratic senator who is an advocate of forcing clean air cars on consumers was quoted as saying: You can’t pick the exact year when subsidies will not longer be necessary, but Saudi Arabia helped us this past weekend by saying they’re going to keep the price of oil high. Gasoline at $4 or $5 a gallon makes electric cars more appealing.

So government, has taken it upon itself to force green on us and consumers and taxpayers will be stuck with the bill.