House Hearing on Hybrids

This past Thursday I testified before the House Committee on Government Reform Subcommittee on Energy and Resources. The hearing was about the role hybrids can play in helping reduce our oil dependence.  We just posted my statement to the committee as a new Hybrid Watchdog that you can find here. Also testifying were representatives from Toyota and Honda, as well as Dr Andrew Frank from UC Davis. Toyota, as one might expect, joined me in urging the government to immediately lift the 60,000 vehicle cap on the number of vehicles eligible for the hybrid tax credit (though you might remember from Scott's blog that Toyota has made sure to note that they did not come up with the idea), and Dr Frank talked up plug-ins.

It was an interesting enough hearing and I am glad that a member like Darrell Issa (R-CA), the chairman of the subcommittee, is interested in the potential of hybrid technology, but I do hope that he and the other members who attended took away from this hearing the key facts I imparted in my testimony.  I emphasized the importance of backing up incentives for hybrids with higher fuel economy standards for all vehicles, noting that although Honda and Toyota are the leaders in hybrids, both of them are projected to have lower overall fuel economy for their vehicle fleets this year than last year. 

To be an important part of an overall clean vehicles solution, hybrids need to be the flagship of an overall fuel economy commitment, not a greenwash to cover for gas-guzzling business as usual.  That goes for Congressional action just as much as it does for the automakers.

Posted by: Don

Comments

[Chala]

Generally speaking hybrid is the most effecient and the best solution to the current fuel crisis we are facing now.

There is no doubt that it will be benificial to the environment, the impact to the reduction of air pollution is very observable.

The only problem is politics and the strong lobbying power key oil players in the market that somehow controls and influence the decision of the house.

Its a wait and see.. situation here.

Charles Lacuna
http://greenfuelpower.blogspot.com

[Scott Way]

One of the most difficult things we face is now disinformation coming from the auto industry through mouthpieces like CNW who are throwing up smokescreens. They are an industry "research firm" and they've been on a hybrid bashing rampage. Journalists have been picking up their "information" and posting it as fact. It almost seems like someone is now out to kill the hybrid car. For example, what is the dust-to-dust comparison between a Prius and a Hummer? Total CO2 output from manufacturing through the lifespan/disposal of each? CNW is stating that the Hummer is actually the greener option! Some of the folks over at GreenHybrid.com have been trying to counter the misinformation being spread by industry insiders and it would help if we could get some clear facts from this site. How about it??? Many thanks for creating a great and informative website!

[odograph]

Scott, I've blogged about CNW in the past. I think the most glaring thing, and the most unsupported arguemnt they make, is that all SUVs last 2.5 times as long as all cars. This makes SUVs win most lifetime energy comparisons ... they have 2.5 times the life to do it.

FWIW, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates a lifetime of 152,000 miles for "cars" and 180,000 miles for "light trucks."

That's a much smaller (18%) advantage.

More, including links to other info, here:

http://odograph.com/?p=531

[odograph]

BTW, on the main topic ... it looks pretty clear to me that any congressional action is going to lag market response. They don't have the political motivation to get out in front.

So I predict the market will move to more efficient cars, and credits, CAFE, etc., will trail after, helping especially to greenwash US automakers efforts.

(Gee, isn't flex-fuel swell?)

[ScottN]

Scott and Odograph, we are looking at the CNW study and will also have something to say about it fairly soon. We just want to have a full response, and it will likely be part of a larger report on the state of hybrid technology that we'll be unveiling either late this summer or early in the fall. Thanks for the link back to your comments, Odograph.

As for the lack of action, you'll note a few blogs down that Eli, our Washington Representative, is also a bit dubious on the lack of progress, but there have been a couple of good signs. First is the fact that the Bohelert-Markey CAFE bill just topped 100 cosponsors--that's serious movement for a fuel economy bill. Second is the fact that there are now two fuel economy bills (not just general oil savings, but real fuel economy) in the Senate, and both are bipartisan. There's Feinstein-Snowe “Ten-in-Ten” bill, S. 3543, which requires an fleet average of 35 miles per gallon for all cars and trucks by 2017, and the Obama-Lugar-Biden Fuel Economy Reform Act, S. 3694, which requires an annual increase in overall fleet fuel economy of four percent. Both of these bills seek meaningful improvements in U.S. fuel economy.

So we are seeing some signs of life on this issue from the Hill, which is more than I could say about it for quite some time.

[odograph]

FWIW, google thewatt and cnw to get loads more.

[Don]

Thanks for your comments, folks.
Odograph it's nice to be in agreement with you for once ;)
I'm taking a look at the CNW report right now, and we hope to have something to say about it soon. Unfortunately there are 450 pages to sift through, and that takes some time, especially when there are other demands on my time. When 85-90% of lifecycle energy use goes into vehicle operation, however, it is pretty implausible to think that a Hummer is going to outperform a decent hybrid.