Obama fails on promise

President Barack Obama missed the key ingredient needed to make electric cars mainstream

President Barack Obama promised to put a million more hybrid and electric cars on the road during his tenure, but new research shows drivers are trading them in to buy sports utility vehicles (SUVs). So far, Obama is still more than 800,000 electric cars short of meeting his 2015 goal.

Buying an electric car can get you a $7,500 federal tax credit. It’s all part of Obama’s plan to get a million electric cars on the road by 2015. But electric cars were much more attractive when gas prices were high and customers could more easily rationalize paying more for an electric car.

Why are electric car sales faltering? One reason, and it's not Obama's fault, is that gas prices are far lower than they were in 2012. Edmunds notes that when gas prices were $4.67 per gallon in October 2012 it would take five 5 years to make up the price difference between 'a Toyota Camry LE Hybrid ($28,230) and a Toyota Camry LE ($24,460)."

With gas prices now at about $2.27 per gallon, Edmunds.com says it would take more than twice as long to save enough on gas to make up the price difference between a Camry LE and a Camry Hybrid.

But from AR1.com's perspective, (we own electric cars and would never switch back to a vehicle polluting the environment burning fossil fuel) the real problem is that the current administration failed to enact legislation that would mandate every commercial establishment (office buildings, malls, movie theaters, restaurants, etc) provide electric vehicle charging parking spots like they are required to provide handicap parking. In return for installing the charging station, the owner of the commercial establishment would get a tax break offsetting the majority of the cost.

Once people have the comfort knowing they can charge everywhere they go without worrying about running out of battery charge, then, and only then, will electric vehicles become popular with the masses.

Although AR1 thinks electric vehicles are the future of automotive power, we still do not endorse it for motorsports. Too boring to watch.