Home charging isn't enough?
Can we predict the future?
If the Obama administration has its way, $10 billion will spent to create up to 15 “deployment cities” for the roll out of plug-in vehicles.
However, a diverse group of Congresspeople and automakers are against the idea for a variety of different reasons.
Some in Congress would like to spend less money to create just 5 deployment cities, while others would prefer to provide tax credits for plug-in vehicles and tax penalties for less efficient vehicles. Automakers, in general, believe more flexibility should be the focus and that any serious electrification plan must also include fuel cells and hydrogen, .
Ultimately, many wonder as well, wouldn’t other communities – taxpayers – be funding the spoils of this program? at their disadvantage? Is that fair?
Inevitably, it seems to me that plug-in technologies – and automotive technologies in general – are ripe for massive breakthroughs that could simply change everything. Any number of breakthroughs in carbon fiber, safety software, fuel cells, and batteries, just to name a few, might make the need for ‘deployment cities’ unnecessary, for instance.
Consequently, is the government possibly trying too hard to predict the future of the auto industry?