Do you think that only environmentalists or eco-conscious legislators want to promote smart transportation choices? Think again. A growing number of business leaders are seeing the connection between employees’ driving habits and the well being of their companies and communities.
We're doing our best to track hybrid incentives and rebates across the country.
Depending on when you bought a hybrid, which model you purchased, and how many deductions you are already taking, you might be entitled to significant tax credit.
In his first televised interview since winning the election, President-elect Barack Obama spoke with Steve Kroft of CBS’s 60 Minutes about the potential bailout of the American auto industry. He also reminded the American people about the importance of breaking from their addiction to oil—despite the recent and dramatic drop in prices at the pumps.
After a week of heated debates about the federal government's possible role in saving Detroit automakers from financial ruin, the likelihood of a comprehensive bailout package is dim. Instead, it appears that limitations for how Detroit spends a $25 billion loan package—signed into a law a few months ago— will be lifted, allowing the Big Three to raid the funds for the cash necessary to continue doing business, while continuing to lose billions of dollars every month.
After accepting the position of White House chief of staff under Barack Obama, Rep. Rahm Emanuel said, “You don’t ever want a crisis to go to waste. It’s an opportunity to do important things that you would otherwise avoid.” Emanuel was speaking broadly about the economic crisis, but his statement holds even truer for the crisis facing Detroit automakers.
Candidate Obama promised to help auto companies retool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future will be built in America. Now, the big question is if President Obama can deliver on these promises. And if the key points in his plan will go far enough to achieve the ambitious triple goals of revitalizing domestic auto manufacturing, freeing the US of dependence on foreign oil, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from our cars and trucks.
Last week, on NPR’s Diane Rehm Show, a panel of auto industry observers discussed the future of the United States auto industry. The consensus? Chrysler is on its last legs, and General Motors and Ford will need a bailout to survive. But panelists offered ideas on saving Detroit—like federally guaranteed car loans for vehicles exceeding 35 mpg. And a $4 floor on gas prices.
San Francisco taxi drivers are providing solid information about the outer reaches of hybrid battery life. At a recent Ford Motor Company event, Paul Gillespie, San Francisco Taxicab Commission president, said some of his city’s Ford Escape hybrid taxis had passed 300,000 miles of use with no problems.
T. Boone Pickens is clearly a man on a mission. The iconic billionaire whose plan for energy independence aims to transform America's transportation and utility infrastructures will spend nearly $60 million promoting the Pickens Plan over the airwaves and through lobbying. It's first major test will come in the form of a referendum on the California ballot this November.