Plug-in hybrids get back of DC hand and Toyota gets screwed

First, just as Wired notes, just $30 million in Department of Energy money for plug-in hybrids is a pittance.

Second, a 2016 timeframe is way behind the curve.

Here’s what’s really needed, per former Clinton official David Sandalow:

• $5 billion to help automakers retool production plants.
• $12 billion in consumer tax credits for plug-in hybrids.
• $1 billion to add 30,000 plug-in hybrids to the government fleet each year for 10 years.
• $500 million to underwrite warranties on lithium-ion batteries until the technology is proven.

Third, the standards — getting a plug-in hybrid that can go 40 miles in electric mode without recharge — are pathetic.

Last, and unmentioned, is the discriminatory crock of giving the money to GM, Ford and General Electric.

Who’s already the No. 1 builder of hybrids? Toyota.

Who already has a near-complete vertical integration of hybrid technology? Toyota.

Who is passing, if not already past, GM in development of plug-in hybrid technology? Toyota.

Not giving it plug-in hybrid grant money is pounding sand down a rat hole.

Also, per something else Wired missed, it’s also arguably protectionist under World Trade Organization standards and subject to formal grievance and complaint, which I hope Toyota, or Honda, does.