You can count me among those Ontario residents (despite living here for 20 years, I am most emphatically not an “Ontarian”) who’s hugely skeptical about yesterday’s “Buy A Green Car With Taxpayer’s Money” announcement. May I make a few points?

• This really isn’t about climate change. A more “green” program, along these lines would have propped up municipal public transit, subsidized the creation of bicycle lanes / access — essentially, getting the average driver to think about other ways to get from A to B instead of the car.
• The argument being advanced here is a false one. A plug-in hybrid, or a full-on electric, right now is not an equivalent substitute for the gasoline- or diesel-powered passenger car, because a lot of versatility is lost in refueling (i.e. recharging the car) and manoeuvring (speed).
• When Toyota is skeptical about how the program will work, that’s not a good sign. Let me quote a bit from the relevant National Post story:
  

  Toyota, known for its hybrid technology, was not informed of the government’s intention to offer the rebates and was taken off guard that the announcement venue was a Chevrolet dealership, [Toyota Canada managing director Stephen] Beatty said.
  “The question is: Is this a well-thought-out industry strategy? Or is it sort of the next stage in advancing a particular product and helping a particular company?”

  This brings up a definite problem — and potential federal intervention. If the program qualifies “Ontario-only” vehicles (i.e. General Motors), then other hybrid manufacturers (and importers of electric alternatives such as scooters and mopeds) have a good case to take before the Competition Tribunal.

Honestly, I think a lot of Ontario voters are going to see this as vapor policy, designed to make the McGuinty government look good. We haven’t seen all that many hybrid or full-on electric cars from the legacy manufacturers, so we don’t know if such cars constitute a sustainable market. And the voters know that convincing city merchants to have their streets torn up so that more electric power stations can be installed is going to be an uphill struggle to say the least.

As for myself, I certainly intend to get something that’s more suitable for commuting purposes than a car. That’s why I’m taking motorcycle driving lessons this weekend.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 16th, 2009 at 06:45 and is filed under Petrolheads, Politics, The Provinces. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.