Hybrid Car Review

President Bush spoke after meeting with members of congress today. It seems that one of the topics up for discussion was the extension of the tax credit for hybrid vehicles.

The tax credit can be up to $3,400 dollars, but it depends on which car you purchase. That credit is an incentive to consumers who are leary about purchasing a hybrid car given they tend to cost three to four thousand more than conventional cars.

Currently, once an automaker (like Toyota) sells more than 60,000 hybrid vehicles, the tax credit will phase out for the consumers who purchase that automaker's car. It's expected that Toyota will surpass that number this year, probably in the fall. This cap was intended as a domestic car incentive, since consumers who buy Ford hybrids will be eligible a lot longer than Toyota.

But, with rising gas prices, Republicans are being pressured to 'do something' about it. I'm not sure this is the best solution, but it will help out those considering purchasing Toyota hybrids, but aren't quite ready yet. Or perhaps some may want one of the newly introduced hybrids from Toyota, like the Camry Hybrid or the Lexus GS 450h.

Remarks by the President After Meeting with Members of Congress

We talked about ways to help mitigate demand, and one way to do so is to encourage alternative automobiles, like hybrid automobiles. And there seemed to be an agreement that we ought to extend the tax credit for these kind of automobiles to encourage our consumers to purchase the hybrid automobile.