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Hi everyone, welcome to another super-spooky Halloween edition of Up the MPG. You may have heard about the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s recent climate tricks. Is it possible that Ford could step up and treat us to some science-based sanity? Speaking of treats, in this issue “the boss” shows off the Gen. 3 Prius and we have a veritable goodie bag of hybrid incentive updates for you!
Boo!
Scott Nathanson
UCS National Field Organizer &
HybridCenter.org Administrator
In this issue:
For some time now, UCS has been responding to the aggressive anti-science stance against reining in global warming pollution being taken by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a lobbying and legal organization with thousands of large and small business members across the nation.
 As you may have heard about recently, the Chamber isn’t exactly leading the charge toward a prosperous, clean energy economy. Instead, it has sued to stop the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from moving forward with its findings that global warming pollution presents a public health threat and must be regulated. The Chamber has also proposed putting climate science on trial akin to the famous “scopes trial” on evolution in the 1920’s and they have been lobbying actively against any meaningful climate legislation in Congress. In regards to the scientific consensus around the urgent need to deal with climate change, president of the Chamber, Tom Donohue said, “Is the science right? Is science not right? I don’t know.”
UCS has been keeping tabs on the Chamber, such as noting when major companies like PG&E have dropped their membership due to the Chamber’s anti-environmental, anti-science stance. Most recently, the Chamber sued to stop the EPA from allowing states to implement clean car standards that are stronger than the national standards. As we know, the state clean car standards that started in California and have since been adopted by a dozen other states were a key factor in bringing about the current strong national clean car rule.
Many members of the auto industry have lined up in favor of these national clean car standards and have agreed to drop their lawsuits against the state standards. So it is a bit “inconsistent” to say the least that the automakers would be part of an organization that is refusing to drop its lawsuit.
A number of groups, such as MoveOn and Save Our Environment (a coalition group UCS is a member of) have targeted Toyota, asking it to join the likes of Apple, PG&E, and Exelon in leaving the Chamber. So far, the response from Toyota has not been promising. They have not only reaffirmed their membership in the Chamber, but in an interview with the Guardian, Martha Voss, a spokeswoman for the company, said Toyota was not inclined to support a “cap-and-trade system” which is the method for reining in global warming pollution in the climate legislation Congress is currently considering.
 But to me, far more than Toyota, it should be Ford that could and should be the first automaker to make a public break with the Chamber. Toyota has never been a company that wants to break ranks with their brethren in Detroit on policy matters. But William Ford Jr., now Ford’s Chairman of the Board, has been outspoken in his environmental leanings for years. While Ford’s policies have not always been true to his aspirations (note Ford’s dubious choice to back off their commitment to hybrids in favor of flex fuel vehicles), he has continued to espouse the need to shift away from a “business as usual” framework toward one embracing clean energy and the environment. In June 2009, Ford co-hosted the “National Summit” in Detroit, a massive event bringing together leaders from across the business spectrum to talk about the challenges facing the American economy. At the event, Ford said:
We now have an opportunity to preserve our environment and our manufacturing base by applying breakthrough technologies to create energy-efficient processes and products. We can gain a clear competitive advantage by becoming leaders in this green technology. No single organization or industry can do this alone. It is going to take crossfunctional cooperation to achieve leadership, and create the massive changes that are so urgently needed. It also is going to take government involvement.
Many of Ford’s recent public actions have been consistent with these remarks. The company has made a commitment to important government policies toward cleaner cars, endorsing the Obama administration’s national clean car standards. Ford is also making a commitment to fuel saving technologies, with a more aggressive integration of its “Eco Boost” conventional technology into its fleet, and an expansion of its hybrid fleet into the sedan market with the impressive Ford Fusion Hybrid and Mercury Milan Hybrid models. Ford seems to be benefiting from its commitment, as its U.S. hybrid sales for the first nine months of 2009 are 73 percent higher than the same period in 2008, fueled by the Fusion/Milan Hybrids which went on sale in March 2009. Ford is now touting its environmental record in Washington D.C. with a blitz of billboard ads in the Metro subway system.
While William Ford Jr. is not in charge of day-to-day operations for the company, his role as Chairman of the Board of Directors puts him in a perfect position to influence the relationship between Ford Motor Company and the Chamber of Commerce. It is time for him to speak out on this issue and show that his commitment to a clean energy economy is more than just rhetoric.
I’ve put together an action alert on the subject so you can send a letter to Mr. Ford yourself (and there are also some other tidbits about the Ford/Chamber connection there, too). If you are an owner (or a prospective owner) of one of Ford’s hybrids, you have even more standing to call attention to this matter.
 Okay, it’s not Bruce Springsteen, but my boss, Michelle Robinson, the director of our Clean Vehicles Program. Here’s her story and some fun pics that I took of her over the weekend.
As the director of the Clean Vehicles Program at UCS, I have been working for many years to advance policies that would help bring the cleanest, most efficient vehicles to the marketplace. For the last 20 years, the Clean Vehicles team has been fighting to increase fuel economy standards and several years ago, we worked with a number of automakers to establish consumer tax credits for the purchase of the exciting new entrant into the vehicle market, hybrid electric vehicles.
All this time, I have been watching and waiting for the right moment to make my move and purchase a hybrid myself. When the 2010 Prius was announced, I decided that this was the year. I was especially enamored with the mpg boost and the nifty solar roof feature on this new model. Due to my preferences for the solar roof package and my predilection for the color red, I had to get on a waiting list in May. Earlier this month, I got the call that my car was on the lot and I arrived on a rainy Saturday morning at Koons Arlington Toyota to pick it up. I have to say that my purchase experience at Koons was quite pleasant; the staff was extremely knowledgeable about the vehicle and walked me through all the bells and whistles.
 As I have said to my colleagues who are big Trekkies, I feel a bit like I am piloting a shuttlecraft when I drive this car—as far as I can tell the only feature missing is deflector shields. All in all, I am very pleased with the car and with Toyota’s choice to maximize its environmental performance. However, as this is the first Toyota I’ve owned, I truly hope that the company will revisit its recent defense of the Chamber of Commerce and its opposition to federal climate legislation (see above). I’d like to be driving this amazing vehicle without the black cloud of Toyota’s shortsightedness on global warming hovering above me. That would truly make my Prius a “no compromises” car.
Michelle didn’t want me to use the “Trek” picture at the end, but given she started it by calling me a Trekkie, I felt it was only fair. If you find someone else writing DCN next month, you’ll know why…
- Fisker to Build Hybrid Cars at Idled Delaware GM Plant: Luxury automaker Fisker Automotive recently announced plans to purchase a closed down GM plant in Delaware. The federal government just granted Fisker $528 million dollars to develop plug-in hybrid electric cars. Fisker projects this plan will create or support 2,000 factory jobs and more than 3,000 vendor and supplier jobs. By 2014 Fisker says the plant will be producing 75,000-100,000 vehicles every year. These vehicles are projected to cost $40,000 after federal tax credits. More than half of those vehicles, however, will be exported. To learn more, visit the Hybrid News Center.
 Toyota Seeks a Short-Range Plug-In Hybrid for the Long Haul: By January 1, 2010, Toyota plans to release 500 plug-in Prius models in North America, Europe, and Japan. The plug-ins will use lithium-ion batteries, opposed to the nickel-metal hydride batteries used in hybrids. Toyota had long resisted plug-in technology development, but with this pilot program, Toyota will spend the next three years looking at how the batteries perform and the actual mileage. Given the high cost of batteries for all-electric vehicles, Toyota is moving towards low-range plug-ins. To strike the right balance and develop a vehicle consumers will purchase, Toyota must figure out how much of an electric range consumers need, and at what cost they are willing to pay for that range. For more on Prius plug-ins, visit the Hybrid News Center.
- Subaru Jumps Into the Hybrid Game: The hybrid market is about to get another player. After years of staying out of hybrids, Subaru brought its Hybrid Tourer Concept to the Tokyo Auto Show. What makes this hybrid unique is the two-motor system that has an electric generator/drive motor in the front and a second electric drive motor in the rear. When the car is first started or running at low speed, the rear motor propels the car. At higher speeds under normal conditions, internal combustion keeps the car moving. But when you accelerate, the rear motor kicks in again to help get your car moving or up a hill. It will also have a lithium-ion battery. Similar to other full hybrids, it will have idle-off capability and regenerative braking. There’s no word as to when the Subaru hybrid will hit the market. For more on auto show introductions, visit the Hybrid News Center.
 When I last told you about the updated list of federal and state hybrid incentives on the HybridCenter web site, I focused on the need for hybrid incentives to move beyond promoting the technology to promoting environmental and efficiency performance. Our intrepid Program and Outreach Assistant Leah Parker once again scoured all the state legislative web sites for these incentives and we’ve discovered that this still remains the case.
Here are a couple of good examples on both sides of the question. West Virginia has proposed legislation for a sales tax holiday where consumers could purchase “certain fuel-efficient vehicles” in West Virginia between September 1 and September 14, 2009, 2010, and 2011 and not have to pay the state sales tax. In defining “certain fuel-efficient vehicles,” instead of promoting the best performing hybrids, the bill simply defines qualified vehicles as those that are “labeled by manufacturers as hybrid vehicles.” This does nothing to promote environmental performance. Consumers could purchase “hollow hybrids” such as the Saturn Aura Hybrid or the Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid, vehicles that undermine the integrity of the hybrid market.
On the flip side, New York has proposed legislation for a hybrid tax credit where the size of the credit is determined by the percentage improvement in fuel economy over the baseline model in its class. The credit would equal $500 if the fuel economy improvement is between 10 and 20 percent, $1,000 if the fuel economy improvement is between 20 and 40 percent, $1,500 if the fuel economy improvement is between 40 and 60 percent, $2,000 if the fuel economy improvement is between 60 and 80 percent, and $2,500 if the fuel economy improvement is 80 percent or more. This type of incentive works to encourage consumers to purchase better performing hybrid vehicles and to push the market towards producing more efficient hybrids.
 Leah also noticed a new type of incentives popping up—incentives for plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles. Plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles are still nascent technologies, as hybrids once were, and require federal and state incentives to support them through development and to help lower costs. Even though plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles are not yet on the road in significant numbers, states across the country are gearing up to support them. While I’m pleased they are doing so, the cynic in me does see this as an easy way to show support for the environment without any fiscal risk, rather than focusing on making sure that today’s consumers are getting every opportunity to put themselves behind the wheel of a more efficient vehicle.
Here are a few new and notables from the plug-in incentive world:
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Texas is considering a bill that would give a $4,000 rebate to consumers who purchase a plug-in hybrid with a battery capacity of at least four kilowatt hours. The plug-in would have to be registered in Texas and 75 percent of its annual mileage would have to be in Texas.
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Washington is considering a bill that would exempt the sales and use tax on the purchase of a qualified plug-in hybrid electric vehicle until January 1, 2014. The bill defines qualified vehicles as a passenger cars, light duty trucks, and medium duty passenger vehicles that draw propulsion power from a rechargeable traction battery with at least four kilowatt hours of capacity and directly or indirectly from an internal combustion engine. They must also use an off-board source of energy to recharge the battery.
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Hawaii passed a law requiring parking lots with at least one hundred spaces to designate one percent of those spaces exclusively for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. At least one of these spaces must be located near the building entrance and be equipped with an electric vehicle charging unit.
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Hawaii also has five bills that would set up a grant fund for the purchase of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. The fund would run from 2010 until 2021 and would give a $4,000 grant to each of the first 500 electric vehicle purchases. After that, the amount of the grant would decrease.
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Oregon passed a law to expire a $1,500 tax credit on the purchase of a hybrid vehicle at the end of 2009. The tax credit, however, will continue for the purchase of plug-in hybrids.
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Oregon is considering a bill to create another tax credit for plug-in hybrids and related equipment. The tax credit is worth up to $5,000 and awarded for purchasing a plug-in hybrid or converting a vehicle into a plug-in hybrid.
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South Carolina introduced a bill that would create a $2,000 tax credit for the purchase or lease of a plug-in hybrid with an all-electric range of no less than nine miles for tax years 2008-2010. The bill passed the House, but the measure was removed by the Senate. The bill is currently being hammered out in conference committee.
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Florida introduced a bill that would exempt the purchase of an electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid (original production or converted) having a batter pack capacity of at least 10 kilowatt hours from all state, county, and local sales and use taxes. The bill would also exempt these vehicles from paying tolls on all toll roads and offered a $2,000 rebate for electric or plug-in hybrid conversion kits. This bill, however, failed to have enough support and was withdrawn three months after its introduction.
There are many more hybrid incentives on the HybridCenter website. Check out the page to see what types of incentives your state is offering or considering.
We are excited to announce we have our first Ford Fusion Hybrid and our first Toyota Prius Gen. 3 entries to the Who’s Got Hybrids network! Please help us expand our community by encouraging your friends and family to sign-up and submit their photo and testimonial!
 Ken Andrews of Reno, NV recently purchased a new 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid! So far he is averaging 39 mpg but hopes to get that number higher with some more practice. He really likes how the interactive display helps guide his driving so he can maximize his fuel economy. He is also mastering his techniques so he can drive up to 47 mph on electric power only and without using a drop of gas.
 Chris Foran of Mancos, CO is stunned by Toyota’s achievement with the Gen. 3 Prius. He and his wife have already put 10,000 miles on it and are averaging 54 mpg. A good portion of their driving has been in the mountains with the car packed full of people and gear—very impressive!
 Pat Sandoval of Sunnyvale, CA and her husband have been proud owners of their Toyota Prius Gen. 2 since 2006. Pat even featured her Prius in the final project of her photography class. It’s their all-time favorite car.
If you own a Prius, Fusion, or any other hybrid model, or know of anyone who does, please remember to tell them to submit their testimonials today!
That’s it for October. Hope everyone has a fun and spooky Halloween and I’ll talk “turkey” with you next month!
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