BUT! ...
Given that Toyota committed to building hybrids long ago, is in the process of passing GM as the No. 1 seller in the U.S. and plans to build a Prius plant here in the future, Barack Obama’s restricting of his support to domestic automakers only is simply not acceptable.
“I know how much the auto industry and the auto workers of this state have struggled over the last decade or so,” Obama said. “But I also know where I want the fuel-efficient cars of tomorrow to be built: not in Japan, not in China, but right here in the United States of America. Right here in the state of Michigan.”
This is just another case, like bailing out Wall Street financial institutions, of rewarding past bad behavior.
Besides, people probably can’t afford a plug-in hybrid like the Volt, and besides that, Toyota should have the plug-in version of the Prius to market first.
I could see making Toyota eligibility for subsidy conditional on its building a U.S. plant, but, other than that, it shouldn’t be barred from the program.
Tom Byrd, in comments, supplies this handy link about the number of plants Toyota already has in the U.S.
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