GUEST COLUMN, Dick Morris
So far, all of the laws designed to encourage people to buy electric vehicles have been voluntary – incentivizing the purchase of EVs through tax credits and such. Currently, California is about to pass a law banning the sale of gasoline powered cars starting in 2035. With at least a dozen states legally obliged to follow California’s fuel standards, the decision now pending before the California Air Resources Board (CARB) will essentially amount to a national ban on gas powered cars.
Consumers will have no choice.
Automotive News reports that the current average sales price for an electric vehicle is $63,000 – roughly $15,000 more than the average price for all other new cars.
We need a new national Pro-choice movement – this one to protect our ability to drive the car we wish.
As the election of 2024 draws near, the issue of automotive choice is going to become bigger and bigger. The high price of electric vehicles, the inconvenience of fueling them, their limited range, and the potential safety problems, have limited EV sales on the American market. Despite tax incentives and green propaganda, EVs only account for 6% of the cars on the road in the US today.
Already, auto makers like Toyota, GM, and Ford have cut back on EV production. Even Tesla reports a slump in sales.
But what consumers have rejected, California is now planning to require – that everybody have an EV.
This mandate could become crucial as an issue in the ’24 campaign. History has shown that voters strongly resist efforts to limit their choice of cars and are unhappy with having to buy of an electric vehicle.
And even as the momentum to electric vehicles has slowed in the marketplace, environmental advocates are switching their focus to hydrogen cars. Electric vehicles are likely to be obsolete even as they are being required.
Talk about an issue that can blow up in Biden’s face!