



Source: GM

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RE: These Tax Credits Are Rediculous
By Mint on 11/28/2012 5:23:25 AM , Rating: 0
And don't try to make the argument battery R&D wouldn't happen otherwise. Batteries of exactly the same underlying technology is central to the modern existence of the Western consumer life. EV production could fall to zero, and some subsidized battery manufacturers that cater 100% to automakers would disappear, but R&D to advance batteries, and the phones, laptops, tablets, hearing aids, marine applications and everything else that they power would advance on without hardly a skipped beat.
Ringold, if you had any grasp about the economics of these markets you wouldn't make such an ignorant statement.

Phones and laptops have completely different requirements. A 2000 cycle battery life on a phone or laptop versus one with 1000 cycles is completely useless in that market, because the latter will outlive the warranty anyway. In a car with battery recycling, cost per mile is almost proportional to cycle count. Cost reduction is also very low on priorities compared to energy density. 50% more density will easily fetch 5x as much per kWh, because going from $4 to $20 in a $500 phone is nothing compared when you get glowing reviews for battery life. That's where research is focused. For a car, energy density is an issue that can be worked around, and cost is the #1 issue. Finally there's the cooling and safety systems for car batteries, the cost of which can vary drastically with battery design, and are negligible for laptop/phone systems due to the vastly lower scale.

So you're dead wrong. Car battery research would not progress at anywhere near the same rate without critical EV sales volume.
So it's okay to waste millions, since it's chump change compared to the trillion dollar deficit?
It's only waste with your qualitative and biased opinion.

It's an easy societal win already. Look at the CMax Energi vs the similarly equipped CMax SEL. The PHEV is only $4750 more than the HEV before credits, but will save way more than that in gas over the lifetime of the vehicle. Consumers don't take that kind of risk, though. Individually, they also don't benefit more than a few pennies from an EV's impact on the trade deficit, while society and the gov't does.

And yes, the fact that these subsidies are so small in the grand scheme of things DOES matter. They're a kickstart, and will fade out just like the regular hybrid credits did.

