xcel
04-27-2006, 01:18 AM
The president asks Congress to lift cap on tax credits as a way to curb foreign oil use. (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060426/AUTO01/604260310/1148)
David Shepardson - Detroit News Washington Bureau - April 26, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Lexus_RXh.jpg
WASHINGTON - President Bush gave a big endorsement to hybrid vehicles Tuesday as a way to solve the nation's dependence on foreign oil and called on Congress to lift the cap on tax credits for hybrid sales - a move that would initially only benefit Toyota Motor Corp.
"The easiest way to promote fuel efficiency is to encourage drivers to purchase highly efficient hybrid or clean diesel vehicles," Bush said in an address to the Renewable Fuels Association summit in Washington.
"If the automakers sell more than their limit, new purchasers are not eligible for the full tax credit.
"And so here's an idea that can get more of these vehicles on the road, and that is to have Congress make all hybrid and clean diesel vehicles sold this year eligible for federal tax credits," he said.
Consumers who buy hybrids currently receive up a tax credit worth up to $3,400, but Congress capped the number of tax credits at 60,000 vehicles per manufacturer each year.
If current law isn't changed, Toyota buyers may lose out on the tax break because Toyota sells more than 60,000 hybrids each year.
Ford Motor Co., by comparison, sold 17,000 hybrids in all of 2005. U.S. sales of hybrid-electric vehicle are expected to grow by 268 percent between 2005 and 2012, J.D. Power and Associates said in a report this year, jumping from 212,000 vehicles last year to 780,000 by 2012. At the forum touting E85 and ethanol, several members of Congress pitched plans to increase ethanol and reduce oil consumption.
U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., called for eliminating Saturday U.S. mail delivery to save on gasoline costs.
David Shepardson - Detroit News Washington Bureau - April 26, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Lexus_RXh.jpg
WASHINGTON - President Bush gave a big endorsement to hybrid vehicles Tuesday as a way to solve the nation's dependence on foreign oil and called on Congress to lift the cap on tax credits for hybrid sales - a move that would initially only benefit Toyota Motor Corp.
"The easiest way to promote fuel efficiency is to encourage drivers to purchase highly efficient hybrid or clean diesel vehicles," Bush said in an address to the Renewable Fuels Association summit in Washington.
"If the automakers sell more than their limit, new purchasers are not eligible for the full tax credit.
"And so here's an idea that can get more of these vehicles on the road, and that is to have Congress make all hybrid and clean diesel vehicles sold this year eligible for federal tax credits," he said.
Consumers who buy hybrids currently receive up a tax credit worth up to $3,400, but Congress capped the number of tax credits at 60,000 vehicles per manufacturer each year.
If current law isn't changed, Toyota buyers may lose out on the tax break because Toyota sells more than 60,000 hybrids each year.
Ford Motor Co., by comparison, sold 17,000 hybrids in all of 2005. U.S. sales of hybrid-electric vehicle are expected to grow by 268 percent between 2005 and 2012, J.D. Power and Associates said in a report this year, jumping from 212,000 vehicles last year to 780,000 by 2012. At the forum touting E85 and ethanol, several members of Congress pitched plans to increase ethanol and reduce oil consumption.
U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., called for eliminating Saturday U.S. mail delivery to save on gasoline costs.