Ontario to offer rebates of up to $10,000 for purchase of green cars

[omalak]

Seems like a good program, with some very practical incentives attached to it

http://www.cp24.com/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090715/090715_ont_electric_cars/20090715/?hub=CP24Home

[fini]

"green vehicles will also get special licence plates so they can use carpool lanes -- even with one person in the car."

they should give that to the gas powered cars cause the "green" vehicles can do non polluting idling... hahaha.

[JashiK]

lol fini

[Zoom Zoom Boy]

If I paint my MS3 green, do I qualify? :chuckle

[marvin24k]

"green vehicles will also get special licence plates so they can use carpool lanes -- even with one person in the car."

they should give that to the gas powered cars cause the "green" vehicles can do non polluting idling... hahaha.

+1

[Cardinal Fang]

For plug in hybrids and battery electric cars? Ok so the Chevy Volt qualifies and what else? A Golf Cart?

[Fobio]

plug-in hybrids don't make sense in Ontario.

[Zoom Zoom Boy]

plug-in hybrids don't make sense in Ontario.

Tell that to the anti-car :AH's that are running our city and provincial governments...but, agree +1.

[Thrizzl3]

they won't make a hybrid mazda 3...or will they??

[JashiK]

I think they're trying to make a hydrogen hybrid RX-8

http://www.businessweek.com/autos/content/feb2006/bw20060215_222935.htm

[huyzel]

what if i stick a "hybrid" badge on my mazda3?
Can I has carpool sticker?

[Cardinal Fang]

they won't make a hybrid mazda 3...or will they??

Making a car a hybrid won't make it qualify. It sounds like they want an electric car you "plug-in" to the wall to charge. Hybrids charge as they drive. This being the case I can only think of the Chevy Volt as an actual plug-in electric car.

[SilentJay]

Definately a step in the right direction. Once there is demand for the product, production costs will come down. If we can get the US on board with something similar to this, we'd all be driving 22-25k electric cars.

That said, while you're not using fossil fuels anymore, you're still impacting the environment in other ways. Increased strain on the power-grid (coal burning and nuclear), waste materials and chemicals from spent batteries.

[silvermist99]

The carpool lanes will get clogged up and the city will have to take that away from the hybrids. Happened in California

[Mty Mous]

Making a car a hybrid won't make it qualify. It sounds like they want an electric car you "plug-in" to the wall to charge. Hybrids charge as they drive. This being the case I can only think of the Chevy Volt as an actual plug-in electric car.

Isn't the Tulsa roadster plug-in? I know I know, its crazy expensive but still a plug-in.


That said, while you're not using fossil fuels anymore, you're still impacting the environment in other ways. Increased strain on the power-grid (coal burning and nuclear), waste materials and chemicals from spent batteries.

Sooo true! just imagine the cost of replacing one of these batteries? Might as well get a new car all over again!
Proper 4cylinder gas or desiel engine cars are the sensible way ... for now atleast.

[iconicrocket]

They should give rebates to high efficiency vehicles assembled in Ontario. Like what we had last time for the Prius and Civic hybrids but with larger amounts if they're assembled in Ontario.

[SilentJay]

^^^ True, but I think they're tip-toeing around "protectionism" right now, even though the US spat in our faces with that one...

[mazdabetty]

"green vehicles will also get special licence plates so they can use carpool lanes -- even with one person in the car."

I read about this a while ago and thought this article was funny...

http://www.thestar.com/article/245008


While Environment Minister Laurel Broten plans to offer green licence plates for energy-efficient cars next year – with perks like free parking or access to carpool lanes – at least three U.S. states are considering green plates for convicted sex offenders and pedophiles back on the streets.


Maybe green is not such a good idea... LMAO

[jonjon72]

My concern about this program is that it should only benefit one company (GM's volt for now). Not only did they receive our tax dollars for a bail out but now our tax dollars are going to subsidize some of their sales.

[jonjon72]

they won't make a hybrid mazda 3...or will they??


Ask and you will receive.



TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp and Mazda Motor Corp are in talks over the possibility of Toyota supplying core components for hybrid vehicles to its smaller rival, two sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

One of the sources, who asked not to be identified because the talks are confidential, said any decision was likely to take some time to finalize, adding that the discussions could ultimately end with no deal.

The Nikkei business daily reported on Thursday that the two Japanese automakers were in the final stages of discussion, and that plans for Toyota to supply core hybrid components to Mazda were likely to be announced soon.

The report sent Mazda's shares soaring 12.4 percent in early trade as the popularity of gasoline-electric cars surges in Japan thanks to tax incentives.

Toyota and Mazda declined to comment on whether they were holding such talks, denying a decision had been made.

The Nikkei said that under the deal, Toyota would supply batteries, motors, control units, and other components made by group parts makers to Mazda, boosting economies of scale and revenue. Denso Corp and Aisin Seiki Co are among Toyota's key hybrid suppliers.

The paper said the components will be used in a hybrid vehicle Mazda is planning to launch as early as 2013, with a sales target of some 100,000 units a year. That would be equivalent to about 8 percent of Mazda's total sales last year.

Such a move would mark a shift in strategy for Mazda, which repeated on Thursday it still aimed to raise fuel economy with improvements to internal combustion engines until 2015.

Toyota's shares were up 1.4 percent in afternoon trade, mirroring a rise in other auto stocks and the broader Tokyo market. Mazda was up 6.6 percent.

MORE HYBRID DEALS TO COME?

Toyota, a pioneer in hybrid technology with at least a 10-year lead on most rivals, currently supplies its hybrid system to Nissan Motor Co, which uses it in its Altima hybrid sedan for the U.S. market, although those sales are negligible.

With the launch of two relatively low-cost hybrid cars this year -- Toyota's third-generation Prius and Honda Motor Co's Insight -- analysts have said the bar for developing competitive gasoline-electric cars has risen.

That has raised the possibility that rivals would seek supply deals from the front-runners or through other forms of collaboration, analysts say.

"Technology that meets environmental regulations comes in a variety of flavors, and we suspect that very few automakers have the wherewithal to develop all of them," JPMorgan analyst Kohei Takahashi wrote in a note to clients.

"Given this, we expect an increasing number of automakers to employ Toyota's series/parallel (hybrid) technology for its proven low costs and high reliability, with Toyota suppliers selling them the core components."

Mazda, affiliated with Ford Motor, has said it is considering various options for hybrid technology, including outsourcing its development instead of developing it on its own or with Ford.

Mazda has one hybrid model, the Tribute SUV, which is produced by Ford using technology partially licensed from Toyota. The model is only sold in California.

Mazda's research and development chief Seita Kanai said earlier this year that Mazda expected to start mounting electric devices such as motors for hybrids from 2015 at the earliest.

But the pressure to offer hybrid models has grown in Japan as consumers flock to gasoline-electric vehicles, which receive the biggest tax breaks under a government initiative that started in April to spur sales of cleaner cars.

[Zoom Zoom Boy]

Hybrid Vehicles...Bleeeeccccckkkkkkk, Yuuuuuccccckkkkkkkk, Phoooooey.

http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/sick/sick0006.gif (http://www.mysmiley.net/free-sign-smileys.php)

[mazda lover]

Also remember the resale value or trade in value will be low. Who would want a car that would need a expensive battery replacement soon after someone bought the car. Duh Not Me..