Nicholas Kristof has written an Opinion / Editorial for The New York Times, February 5, 2006, stating that George needs to place an order for 50,000 PHEVs for the federal fleet. In his opinion, the federal government going with such 100 MPG vehicles would be bold political leadership.
With whom would he place the fleet order? Well, “soft orders” go to Plug-in Partners. And, the real orders? Well, that is the other part of the equation: bold corporate leadership to put this technology in play immediately. Yes, now! Not six to ten years with time off for more war, George.
Plug-in hybrids are economically and technically feasible today. While the batteries still aren’t perfect, supporters say that plug-in hybrids can be mass-produced today for only about $3,000 more than a conventional hybrid (which already costs $3,000 more than a regular auto)… The higher sticker price is compensated for by lower operating costs, with power from the electrical grid. Indeed, if it recharged at night when rates drop, a plug-in hybrid could be run for the equivalent of 75 cents a gallon or less. Another advantage is that plug-ins fit easily into the existing infrastructure, …at home, the infrastructure is as simple as an extension cord.
So, that is what a Pulitzer journalist for the New York Times sees as bold. Uh-uh. Bold would be within this year importing a Chinese serial hybrid that would sell for $6000 less than the equivalent standard ICE from Detroit. That would be forgoing oil dependence. It would be seeing plug-in, flex-fuel hybrids as a fundamentally sound transition rather than the Hot New (Pulitzer Prize-winning Spin) Thing.
And, bold journalism, prize-winning or no, would be to point out to the President that consuming such a large portion of world oil and refusing to sign the Kyoto accord is isolationism despite his speech writers best efforts.
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Bill Moore relays a Reuters story (Tiny URL) about Exxon. “The world’s largest publicly traded oil company says hoping to end foreign oil imports is not only a bad idea, but also impossible.”