The California Air Resources Board thinks it has done the auto industry a favor by cutting the 2003 electric-vehicle mandate to 8,137. But automakers still have to find a way to make limited-range vehicles palatable to the public.
It would be smarter to have a cumulative emissions total (sort of a CAFE for emissions) that automakers can reach however they want - electric vehicles, hybrids or super-clean internal combustion engines.
Saying 'I want an EV' is a lot different from plunking down cash. Last time, fleet customers such as governments and utilities backed off after supposedly being gung-ho to get EVs.
It's time for the state of California to put its money where its mandate is.
