Obama Administration Proposes A $7500 Tax Credit On EV Purchases

Since the U.S. Gov't has to borrow every dime it spends, you better ask the lenders (aka the Chinese) if they're O.K. with this program...

The fact that a $7,500 federal government subsidy is needed to move these electric vehicles proves there is a little consumer demand for them. If there was actual consumer interest and demand for these cars, there wouldn't be a need for the credits.

And a million EV's on the road by 2015? Absolutely impossible and will never happen in less than four years.

It was the same with Hybrids. People are silly. Most would rather pay $500 for a V8 sedan that costs them $400 in gas. Then $600 a month for a car that cost them $200 in gas.

They get stuck on the payment not the total cost of ownership.

You guys are missing the point. When you introduce a new technology like that, it really cost a lot more than the existing technology it is replacing. It will take a few iteration to iron out all the kinks and bring the price down. The Govt is giving incentive to people to embrace the new technology so that more research can be done to make it successful.

Even if both cars have the same fuel economy, why would someone pay more. The Govt wants to reduce the dependance on foreign oil but for the end consumers this is not an issue as far as there is oil available.
One of 2 things can happen, tax the gasoline cars enough so make the EV cars more appealing or give tax credit to the EV cars to give them a push in the market. If they succeed then we will see lots of them and no longer need the tax credit.

I know people have short memory. They already forgot the Hybrid program. There are no more tax credit for hybrid but they still sell pretty well and almost every manufacturers have hybrids now.

Think people think.

Monster, you are missing the point. This tax cut will largely benefit the Volt, a car made by "Government Motors." GM, a company just emerging out of bankrupcy, loses money on EVERY Volt is produces. This is not the best business plan betting your future on a product you lose money on. Furthermore, the federal government (with record breaking deficits) should not be in the business of trying to create market demand by offering these types of "credits."

SUVs. Hybrids. Electrics. Whatever the falvor of the day, that gets the tax breaks.

Personally, if I were Da Prez, I'd give tax breaks based on whatever gets the results, as opposed to a specific technology that I'm sold by lobbyists. But that's just me.

Whatever float your boat. The point the president is trying to make is to deviate away from vehicle using foreign fuels to "fuel" our economy. It's not about "demand" or anything. It's about moving toward a future where we don't have to spend $5 a gallon for gas. Believe it or not, the future is in electric, unless, hydrogen vehicles makes a wave. And the president is trying to create some kind of incentive to do just that. The folks who will be buying these electric vehicles will be the same people who were buying ugly Saturns and small vehicles that takes them from point A to point B. And there's a lot of them. In terms of enthusiast, like people who frequent this site a lot, we're just a niche. If there were more enthusiast, Toyota would be out of business.

"...making it rain at Scores"

Say "hi" to Howard

This is all to sell the Volt and the Idealist view of electric cars. This article, and many more can be found online for those that want to research it, points out that the US percentage of oil imported form the middle east is only 12%. That is up from 10% a few years ago but that is not a hge dependancy on middle east oil. http://www.sustainer.org/dhm_archive/index.php?display_article=vn355energyfactsed
The need for electric cars is more an idealist movement than a reaction to crisis or shortage of oil.