Question: I don't pretend to understand all the terms that exist in the world today. But the car salesman used one phrase several times recently at the dealership and we couldn't figure out what it might have referred to: "Range anxiety." Does that mean anything to you?
Answer:
Sure does. It's used to describe the feeling that many would-be owners of plug-in electric cars have. They worry that the limited distance such vehicles can travel on a charge will leave them power-depleted and stranded.
Question: I've read that it takes several years when you buy a hybrid for the fuel savings to actually cover the extra that you pay for the vehicle. That makes sense. Most of us don't drive enough miles to get fast savings. But I don't understand why state and federal agencies don't use them, since their vehicles are often on the road almost day and night.
Answer:
Many do use hybrids. Several state and local agencies around the nation have for some time been using them, though on a somewhat limited basis. Police departments in several towns and cities, from New York and New Jersey, across the Midwest to Indiana and on to Lincoln, Nebraska, for example, have been using them. The fuel-sippers are assigned not to troopers who pursue speeders on the highways but, rather, to detectives and meter readers and others who generally aren't involved in high-speed chases. Code enforcement officials in many communities drive them, as do utility company supervisors, among many others.
You can expect to see something of a spike in hybrid use on a federal level pretty soon. The Obama administration recently announced plans for the purchase of 116 plug-in electric vehicles (and will install charging stations) for federal workers in five major cities: Washington, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego.
The move is part of a plan that aims for all new vehicles added to the government fleet, which now numbers 600,000, to be alternative-fuel-friendly by 2015.
Just a guess here, but I'm thinking we'll see a lot of delays and revisions to that plan in the months ahead. Still, the sentiment is there and some movement is likely.
