State Limits Hybrids in Fast Lanes
Owners of hybrid cars in California began applying for $8 decals Thursday that will allow them to drive solo in carpool lanes. But some drivers are going to be disappointed: The state says only three hybrids -- the Honda Civic, Honda Insight and Toyota Prius -- will be allowed.
That leaves four others on the market, the Honda Accord, Toyota Highlander, Lexus RX 400h and Ford Escape, off the list.
Ford, in the midst of a publicity campaign touting its hybrids as a symbol of its environmental commitment, is not happy.
“The U.S. Congress determined the formula for hybrid vehicles in [carpool] lanes with single occupants, and in that law, the Ford Escape hybrid is equal to the Toyota Prius,” said Mike Moran, a spokesman for Ford Motor Co. in Washington, D.C.
“It’s not about picking certain cars and excluding others,” he added.
The national highway bill that President Bush signed into law on Wednesday allows states to let hybrids into carpool lanes. But California passed a law last year that sets stricter standards than the national standards for mileage and emissions.
“Rather than follow the federal requirement, we decided that cleaner cars should be allowed in,” said Gennet Paauwe, a spokeswoman for the state Air Resources Board. “We’ve always had more advanced air pollution measures here because of the particular challenges we face.”
California’s effort to push cleaner, high-mileage cars is running up against the auto industry’s strategy of using hybrid technology in larger cars and SUVs.
Automakers are rushing to add more hybrids in the next two years, including other models from Lexus and Ford, as well as vehicles from Saturn, Nissan and Chevrolet. Few, if any, of those new models will make the cut to get into the state’s 1,112 miles of carpool lanes.
“I think people don’t necessarily buy vehicles because they’re allowed in the carpool lane as a solo driver,” Paauwe said. “But the carpool lane law is an incentive to buy hybrids. While people may be upset that they can’t drive solo as others can, there will probably be further introductions of other types of vehicles that will qualify in the future.”
Despite the strict rules, most of the 57,000 currently registered hybrid cars in the state will be allowed in the diamond lanes, Paauwe said.
Still, Raj Valluri said she feels left out.
“I think it’s definitely unfair,” said the 32-year-old Folsom software project manager, who has owned a Ford Escape since March. “If they pass some rule, it should be applicable to all hybrids.”
But as larger, more powerful hybrids enter the marketplace, not as many of them may qualify. Experts say manufacturers are experimenting with SUVs, mini-vans and pickup trucks in an attempt to attract a mass market that may value other features more highly than fuel efficiency.
“The automakers aren’t totally fixated on whether the cars will drive in the [carpool lanes],” said Lonnie Miller, director of industry analysis for Michigan-based R.L. Polk & Co., which provides automotive information and marketing services.
Brett Smith, assistant director of manufacturing at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich., agreed.
“The greenies and the trendies, how many of those are out there?” he asked.
Hybrids, which make up only 3% to 5% of the market, must make up at least 20% to make a real difference in fuel savings for the country, Smith said.
California law grants carpool access to hybrids that are the cleanest-running in their class and get at least 45 miles to the gallon. The vehicles use small internal-combustion engines in combination with electric motors to increase gas mileage and reduce air pollution.
Critics, including some traffic engineers, fear the rules will clog carpool lanes without providing much environmental benefit. They note that sales of hybrids are already brisk without the new incentive.
The federal hybrid provision applies nationwide and requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to define what an energy-efficient, low-emissions hybrid vehicle is within 180 days. California would have to change its standards only if the EPA decides on mileage requirements that are higher than the state’s, which most officials doubt will happen.
Although eligible hybrid owners could start receiving stickers in the coming weeks, officials expect it will be several months before solo drivers can use the carpool lanes.
Virginia is the only other state to grant carpool access to solo motorists in hybrid vehicles.
Brad Bowers, who owns an Internet business development company in Berkeley and drives a Honda Insight, said he thinks the new law is a good idea.
“It’s one more reason for people to potentially buy hybrid cars,” he said. “But I have mixed feelings about it because nowadays every time people talk about hybrids, they talk about how it saves money because it doesn’t use as much gas, not that it’s more efficient or doesn’t pollute as much.”
In Los Angeles, Duban Barrios, inventory manager at the Toyota Central dealership on South Figueroa Street, said customer interest in the Prius has increased in recent weeks.
“A lot of people are coming in and asking about the Prius after they heard talks about the carpool lane,” Barrios said.
His dealership began selling the hybrid version of the Toyota Highlander SUV last month. Barrios said he doubts the Highlander’s exclusion from the carpool lanes will hurt sales.
“If you’re coming for the SUV hybrid and you see the Prius, you won’t change your mind at all,” Barrios said. “You would go with the vehicle you were interested in first.”
Despite California’s tough rules, critics worry that allowing solo drivers in carpool lanes will cause more congestion in those lanes, possibly discouraging carpooling.
“It’s a well-intentioned but wrong-headed policy,” said James Moore, chairman of USC’s Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. “I think eventually hybrids would penetrate the fleet to a sufficient extent that carpool lanes will no longer be offering any advantage.”
Car dealer Andy Hong of Hollywood Ford on Hollywood Boulevard said he’s “not too happy” with the state law because the hybrids he sells are excluded.
Nevertheless, Hong said his dealership has been selling three or four Ford Escapes each month since last September, and he doesn’t think the law will put a damper on sales.
“It’s a different breed of people that will buy the hybrid,” Hong said, adding that many professionals and entertainment industry workers are interested in the cars. “They don’t go strictly by the dollar incentive.”
Applications for the hybrid decal can be obtained on the Department of Motor Vehicles website, www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/reg/reg1000.htm
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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
The hybrid market
DMV-issued stickers that allow solo drivers to use carpool lanes will be issued only to owners of three hybrid cars currently on the market -- the Honda Civic, Honda Insite and Toyota Prius.
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Hybrids currently available
Cars
Honda Accord Hybrid
Honda Civic Hybrid
Honda Insight
Toyota Prius
SUVs
Ford Escape
Lexus RX 400h
Toyota Highlander
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Hybrids expected to become available by 2008
*--* Vehicles Expected Chevrolet Malibu 2007 Nissan Altima 2007 Toyota Camry 2007 Lexus GS 2006 Chevrolet Tahoe 2007 Dodge Durango 2007 GMC Yukon 2007 Mercury Mariner 2006 Porsche Cayenne 2008 Saturn VUE 2005 Toyota Sienna 2007 Dodge Ram 2005 GM Silverado & Sierra 2005
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Sources: Dept. of Motor Vehicles, Calif. Air Resources Board, hybridcars.com
