Hybrid Car Review

$900 Tax Credit an Incentive?

The $103,000 BMW 7 ActiveHybrid just got a little less expensive. The federal tax credit was announced to be $900. Not much of an incentive, I guess.  But if you qualify, something is better than nothing.

And I might add, it's not wrong. The Beemer Hybrid may be expensive. The tax credit may be going to people who can afford the car and don't need it. And this hybrid was designed for power and speed, not fuel efficiency.

But it is a hybrid, with a hybrid engine and a battery pack. That means more hybrid engines and more battery packs are being built. Which means the oh so important scale is kicking in, which means the prices on these components will come down.

Which means, eventually, that there will be a hybrid for everyone. The Honda Insight, the so-called hybrid for everyone, is not really for everyone. Not when it costs a minimum of $20K to buy one. Nor are the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt, which will cost almost twice as much, going to be for everyone even with a $7,500 tax credit from the government. Not when the battery pack being installed into the Volt and Leaf costs $10,000.

And so, the incentive may not be much, and perhaps the price tag means you won't be buying one any time soon. But every time I see another Tesla Roadster or BMW ActiveHybrid 7 has been sold, I celebrate a little bit. Each one bought accelerates when there really will be a hybrid, or electric car, for everyone.