Dakota Beacon

In his State of the Union speech, President Obama called for one million plug-in hybrid and all-electric cars on the road by 2015. He then asked congress for more than a billion dollars to fund his ambition.

            Hybrid and electric cars -- what a great target for budget cuts.

            In reality, hybrid and electric cars, the so-called alternative propulsion cars, are one of the biggest boondoggles perpetrated on the American people. This hoax goes hand-in-glove with the manmade global warming scam.

            Consider some of the issues hybrid and electric cars pose that the dominant media never discuss.

            --All batteries derive power from a chemical reaction. When the temperature drops, the chemical reaction occurs more slowly. A drop in ten degrees below room temperature will cause the battery to drop 50% of its rated output.

            --In cold temperatures, since batteries will not produce power readily, the effective range of the car will be reduced.

            --Also, the battery charge time takes longer in cold temperatures.

            --Besides the battery power for propulsion, the battery will also have to warm the passenger compartment further reducing the range of the vehicle.

            --Using the radio for weather and traffic reports also draws electricity from the battery as will use of headlights for night driving.

            --In cool climates, an all-electric vehicle requires a battery warmer preferably in a garage to enhance battery performance in the coldest months.

            Bottom line: cold weather negatively affects electric cars. They’d work best in subtropical climates.

            General Motors says they are addressing the cold weather issues in their Volt. GM developed some reserve power in the form of an internal backup combustion engine. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the engine requires premium gasoline. Either way, the idea of an internal combustion engine in a $41,000 four-passenger hybrid car defeats the “green” purpose.

            Nissan is developing a cold weather package for its Leaf. Neither the cost nor the available date has been announced.

            Beyond the lagging technology, hybrid and electric cars are not cost competitive. Hybrids and electrics typically run $3,000 to $20,000 more expensive than gasoline models. To draw buyers, the federal government provides a $7,500 tax incentive. Some states offer additional incentives.

            At present, about 5,000 electric cars are on the road. Auto makers would have to produce and sell at least a quarter of a million electric cars a year for the next four years which nobody wants to buy in order to achieve Obama’s goal.

            In any case, Obama’s goal of a million hybrid and electric cars is meaningless. It represents about 0.4% of all US cars on the road and would produce no appreciable reduction in carbon emissions or dependence on foreign oil. This we get in return for our multibillion-dollar taxpayer “investment.”

            After more than a decade in the marketplace, consumer sales of hybrids continues to slide. Enter the federal Government Services Administration. GSA’s involvement artificially boosted the hybrid and electric car market. Roughly 3,100 of the hybrids purchased by GSA were purchased using $300 million in 2009 stimulus money. Another 5,600 hybrids were purchased using proceeds from the sale of part of the GSA combustion engine fleet.

            The federal government buys hybrids almost exclusively from Ford and GM. GSA bought 64% of all Chevy Malibu hybrid models, 29% of all Ford’s Fusions and 14% of Ford’s Escapade hybrid models through 2009. Ironically, GM stopped making the Malibu hybrid after 2009 due to lack of public demand.

            As Director of Forecasting at J.D. Power and Associates (a Michigan consulting firm) said, “At some point, the reality is that for this technology to be accepted, it needs to be done without a government crutch. But without a huge gas-price increase or further government demand, the natural demand just isn’t to be there.”

            Adversity is often opportunity in disguise and hereby affords a readymade opportunity to turn the tables on Liberals and Democrats. What a great opportunity to defeat the liberal planet-saving nostrum of coercing people to behave in certain ways contrary to their instincts, to wit: buying hybrid and electric cars. Using Rule #13 from Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals,” wouldn’t he be proud of those who would effect change. Alinsky’s Rule # 13, you will recall states, “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” On second thought, use of Rule #13 by conservatives isn’t exactly what Alinsky had in mind. Nevertheless, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.