It is immoral for government and activists to want to coerce people into buying what they don't want, rather than what they want.

When the Army is threatening to put a bullet in your head if you don't go to the Toyota dealership, let me know.

Setting up economic penalties (through taxes usually) is a great way to use market forces to address externalities like pollution and traffic congestion.

Who do they think they're kidding? We've had the technology in place for DECADES to have safe, fast, reliable hybrids and guess what BigOil did back then? Paid the Car Manufacturers to scrap early models in heaps in the desert, made up false reports, just like this article, that they were “unworkable”…”not worth the investment” “unsafe” etc. etc. AND simultaneously spent millions in lobbying Congress to shoot down any R&D money for developing…back in the 1970s and beyond!!

Screw you BigOil. You lie like dogs. The future is here, the green cars are not only working just fine but they are the new investment of the future. Pull all your money from BigOil and invest green. It's like getting in on Microsoft when they were just starting out..

Absolutely, and that's assuming that such vehicles can be offered that become the kind of vehicles people want to buy. (It is immoral for government and activists to want to coerce people into buying what they don't want, rather than what they want.) On the road this morning here in Michigan the discussion was about just that, what people want. It's corroborated by my observations — my eyes are usually very widely open — that even with $4.00+ fuel prices, people continued to drive their larger vehicles that they prefer, and to do it aggressively (i.e., waste fuel, which they don't value as highly as others imagine). More to the point, what few vehicles are new are all larger vehicles here in Detroit. I've driven two-seaters almost exclusively, and all but one of my acquisitions has been of a used vehicle. (The new car I bought, I put 400,000 miles on it and replaced the first engine when it wore out rather than get a new car. That's a low-footprint lifestyle. I plan the same thing at least once with the small pickup truck I currently own, i.e., at least one engine replacement over a long life.)

I've even engaged in some cynical, dark humor here: How does the center-right public respond to poor roads? Avoid tax increases by driving larger, heavier, more robust vehicles over the worsening roads. Ha.

As to the issue of affordability (as well as practicality), the cost (be it to buy or to lease) killed the EV-1, not any Big Oil “conspiracy.” The Chevy Volt is supposed to be priced, still, around $40,000. I hope this figure is lowered. As it is (again, this was on today's radio show here in Detroit), it's wonderful to talk about great new conservation-minded and performance-oriented improvements (in the real world, economy and performance will face a tradeoff whenever engine efficiency and power are improved), but if it increases the cost by $5,000, say, most people will say “forget it.” Just as they said “forget it” when larger station wagons disappeared, but SUVs were available. Most won't pay a premium for something with a long payback. Few will want to pay a premium merely to feel good about the environment or to engage in the delusion they are superior to others who drive larger, less fuel-efficient vehicles.

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“it takes much more energy to produce a Prius than a typical car, and the making of the batteries does significant environmental damage”

Environmentalists and other activists should keep this in mind when dreaming of “clean” solar and wind power, which require batteries in addition to construction costs, physical hazards to personnel, and land appropriation, because solar and wind power are intermittent. (What used to be called by activists years ago, “soft power,” in fact has some awfully hard attributes, harder than so-called icky, easily available “hard power” in a number of instances.)

As for the environment, I've read that it takes much more energy to produce a Prius than a typical car, and the making of the batteries does significant environmental damage. I think some of the editorials I've read overstate the issue (they often write of how far materials need to be shipped to make a single car, but ignore the economy of scale). But it's something to consider when making the decision between a traditional car and a hybrid.