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Please act today, Take Action to Keep Strong ZEV Policies in CA - Oppose AB 1964!

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.......Both cars [Volts] have driven nonstop over 300 miles at 75 mph when needed, something no EV can do today.

Tesla Roadsters with the "R85" battery upgrade can do this today. Just say'n.

GSP

PS. Glad to read that both of your children are driving Volts. Sounds like they are enjoying them. I certainly enjoyed my 2011, and my current 2014 Volt. It is rare that it needs to use the ICE around town, only needing it for occasional out of town trips.
 
Nissan and Tesla
Yep but my main point is that many members of that alliance have weak or no EV programs (e.g. barely any EV sales, not serious about EVs, doesn't like building EVs, California/CARB (California Air Resources Board) compliance cars only and/or very limited EV availability outside those CARB states) but many have PHEV programs or have PHEVs on the way.

From July 2016 Dashboard - HybridCars.com, a few examples amongst alliance in that boat: GM, Ford, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota, Volvo, VW, Porsche, Land Rover/Jaguar, Mazda, etc.

In July 2016, GM in the US sold 2406 Volts (a PHEV) while they did only 333 Spark EVs (only available in 3 states out of 50). Ford sold 1341 Fusion Energis and 755 C-Max Energis (both PHEVs) while they did only 58 Focus Electrics, which is supposedly a 50 state car...

Toyota had the 2600 vehicle run of the Tesla-powered California only Gen 2 Rav4 EV and then discontinued it. They were selling the Plugin Prius (PHEV). That got discontinued but will be replaced by a new PHEV, the 2017 Prius Prime. I know of no BEV from Toyota on the way.
 
I received an e-mail from Plug In America regarding the recent legislative actions. I'll quote below:

Dear Plug In America Friends,

Hot news! The action you took last week on telling your legislator to oppose AB 1964 was effective – the bill died in the California Legislature on Wednesday night when the session ended for the year. Instead, the Legislature passed SB 838, which means that anyone who purchases a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) can apply for and get a green decal to drive in the HOV (carpool) lane – without the restrictions AB 1964 had. The expiration for the decals is now January 1, 2019, the same as for the all battery-electric vehicles (BEV). And last but certainly not least, SB 32 passed, which cements a 40% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 for California. This sends a clear market signal for these clean vehicles that California is firmly committed to reducing GHG emissions beyond 2020. Please take a moment to tell your Legislator thank you!

Now for the lukewarm news: the Legislature also passed an updated budget, AB 1613, which includes $133 million for the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP). While this funding is lower than we’d like, the funding has the concrete benefit of getting the rebates flowing again. And, new additional income caps for claiming the rebate will take effect Nov. 1, 2016, per SB 859. Plug In America will continue to work with legislators to optimize the CVRP for all consumers as the special legislative session on transportation gets underway.

The fall will continue to be action packed for EVs. Not only is National Drive Electric Week just 9 days away, but more importantly, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) will be reviewing a requirement that 15% of new vehicle sales be from zero-emission vehicles by 2025, called the ZEV Mandate. A crucial vote will be taken at the CARB meeting in December that will determine the pace of EV adoption in California and other states. Plug In America will be reaching back out for your support for a strong, favorable review of the ZEV Mandate later this fall.

So, Green Stickers are now unlimited and will expire with the White Stickers on 1/1/2019 unless new legislation is enacted to extend one or both of these sticker types.
 
I received an e-mail from Plug In America regarding the recent legislative actions. I'll quote below:

So, Green Stickers are now unlimited and will expire with the White Stickers on 1/1/2019 unless new legislation is enacted to extend one or both of these sticker types.

And that's a huge change......3 consecutive caps to no cap, which peaked my interest. So I read the details (or tried to quickly) and it appears to imply that the DOT will be monitoring peak congestion access, per a study, and limit HOV access during periods of peak congestion for the specific vehicles covered under this new legislation. See 5205.5(c)(1)(2)(3) underscored below. The defined vehicles included in 5205.5(a) do not include ZEV, and therefore they would not be subjected to the same congestion regulation. Do I read that correctly?
I suppose that's one way to kiss the Hybrid manufacturers butts (re-enact green stickers, this time unlimited), earn more revenue (new green decal fees) and then add congestion controls on them. This ought to get interesting.

5205.5.

(a) For purposes of implementing Section 21655.9, the department shall make available for issuance, for a fee determined by the department to be sufficient to reimburse the department for the actual costs incurred pursuant to this section, distinctive decals, labels, and other identifiers that clearly distinguish the following vehicles from other vehicles:
(1) A vehicle that meets California’s super ultra-low emission vehicle (SULEV) standard for exhaust emissions and the federal inherently low-emission vehicle (ILEV) evaporative emission standard, as defined in Part 88 (commencing with Section 88.101-94) of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(2) A vehicle that was produced during the 2004 model year or earlier and meets California’s ultra-low emission vehicle (ULEV) standard for exhaust emissions and the federal ILEV standard.
(3) A vehicle that meets California’s enhanced advanced technology partial zero-emission vehicle (enhanced AT PZEV) standard or transitional zero-emission vehicle (TZEV) standard.
(b) The department shall include a summary of the provisions of this section on each motor vehicle registration renewal notice, or on a separate insert, if space is available and the summary can be included without incurring additional printing or postage costs.
(c) The Department of Transportation shall remove individual HOV lanes, or portions of those lanes, during periods of peak congestion from the access provisions provided in subdivision (a), following a finding by the Department of Transportation as follows:
(1) The lane, or portion thereof, exceeds a level of service C, as discussed in subdivision (b) of Section 65089 of the Government Code.
(2) The operation or projected operation of the vehicles described in subdivision (a) in these lanes, or portions thereof, will significantly increase congestion.
(3) The finding shall also demonstrate the infeasibility of alleviating the congestion by other means, including, but not limited to, reducing the use of the lane by noneligible vehicles or further increasing vehicle occupancy.
(d) The State Air Resources Board shall publish and maintain a listing of all vehicles eligible for participation in the programs described in this section. The board shall provide that listing to the department.
(e) (1) For purposes of subdivision (a), the Department of the California Highway Patrol and the department, in consultation with the Department of Transportation, shall design and specify the placement of the decal, label, or other identifier on the vehicle. Each decal, label, or other identifier issued for a vehicle shall display a unique number, which shall be printed on, or affixed to, the vehicle registration.
 
Quite frankly the HOV lanes in LA are already too crowded. The idea is go give early adopters an additional incentive but frankly we are passed the early adopter phase especially when it comes to plug in hybrids. Driving a pure EV still has several drawbacks and is a compromise in some ways. Not a plug in hybrid. It has no restrictions, it runs just like any ICE vehicle including pollution and noise. I don't see why they should get the same access to HOV lanes like those that pay a premium for a true EV and live with the restrictions every day.
 
Quite frankly the HOV lanes in LA are already too crowded. The idea is go give early adopters an additional incentive but frankly we are passed the early adopter phase especially when it comes to plug in hybrids. Driving a pure EV still has several drawbacks and is a compromise in some ways. Not a plug in hybrid. It has no restrictions, it runs just like any ICE vehicle including pollution and noise. I don't see why they should get the same access to HOV lanes like those that pay a premium for a true EV and live with the restrictions every day.

I think that's the point of the new legislation. It reads as though the state is providing access to them but also introduced peak congestion limits to the same vehicles they've just provided unlimited access to. So net effect, may not be any worse or even better depending how they manage it, and if I interpreted it correctly. Hey, is there a lawyer in the house? (Trading Places LOL)
 
I think the Green Stickers should have remained frozen where they were. However, there was a concerted lobbying effort by traditional automakers to reinstate it so that their vehicles (Volt, Energi, i3 REx) would be more appealing. By using this method of increasing demand, the automakers have a lower cost of compliance.

It will be interesting to see what happens with the CalTrans reporting. In order to reduce access by Sticker eligible vehicles, they will have to find that the HOV lanes are degraded by the presence of Sticker vehicles to such an extent that the overall level of service cannot be improved by increasing traditional occupancy requirements or by better enforcement to reduce cheating. At least, that's what I take away from the legalese quoted above.
 
Not a plug in hybrid. It has no restrictions, it runs just like any ICE vehicle including pollution and noise.
But PHEVs can run on electric only, and as for "just like any ICE vehicle" re: pollution, no. Green HOV stickers are only for vehicles that meet enhanced AT-PZEV emissions standards. So, they have to get 9 or better on DriveClean California. You can look up vehicles at DriveClean California and see that there are MANY that do worse than 9 (you'll want to change the model year, as well).

If you're talking about CO2 (a greenhouse gas) emissions (which are totally unrelated to the smog score), well, the relatively good gas mileage of most of them means also lower tailpipe CO2 emissions. Burning each gallon of gasoline produces ~19.4 pounds of CO2 per Emission Facts: Average Carbon Dioxide Emissions Resulting from Gasoline and Diesel Fuel | US EPA. So... if you burn less of it via better mpg...

The PDF accessed via the 1st bulleted item near the end of Smog Rating | Green Vehicle Guide | US EPA lists what the limits are to qualify for a given rating.

Eligible Vehicles - Single Occupant Carpool Lane Use Stickers also confirms the lifting of the cap on the green stickers. I am puzzled by it passing though, given the crowding that folks allude to here and even Our HOV lanes are so slow they break federal laws from Dec 2014.
 
But PHEVs can run on electric only, and as for "just like any ICE vehicle" re: pollution, no. Green HOV stickers are only for vehicles that meet enhanced AT-PZEV emissions standards. So, they have to get 9 or better on DriveClean California. You can look up vehicles at DriveClean California and see that there are MANY that do worse than 9 (you'll want to change the model year, as well).

If you're talking about CO2 (a greenhouse gas) emissions (which are totally unrelated to the smog score), well, the relatively good gas mileage of most of them means also lower tailpipe CO2 emissions. Burning each gallon of gasoline produces ~19.4 pounds of CO2 per Emission Facts: Average Carbon Dioxide Emissions Resulting from Gasoline and Diesel Fuel | US EPA. So... if you burn less of it via better mpg...

The PDF accessed via the 1st bulleted item near the end of Smog Rating | Green Vehicle Guide | US EPA lists what the limits are to qualify for a given rating.

Eligible Vehicles - Single Occupant Carpool Lane Use Stickers also confirms the lifting of the cap on the green stickers. I am puzzled by it passing though, given the crowding that folks allude to here and even Our HOV lanes are so slow they break federal laws from Dec 2014.
There are also plenty with 9 that never got a sticker (like any PZEV vehicle, like a Gasoline PZEV Focus) or ones that overstayed their welcome (the Prius with the yellow sticker program). I would not doubt a lot of PHEVs are used this way (people who bought a yellow sticker car moving to a green sticker car mainly for HOV access).

In this case, us EV advocates didn't really "win". The income restrictions still got passed. And while the extra date-wise extension didn't get passed for the green stickers, they got even more than they bargained (unlimited stickers). In the end, EVs didn't get a date extension (which was what mainly Plug-in America was advocating for). It's mostly a win for the ICE manufacturer lobbyists.

It'll be interesting to see how they address congestion. Limiting stickers seem to be an easier approach than selective enforcement of HOV lanes (which will likely cause conflict), but I guess it is a more direct way.
 
There are also plenty with 9 that never got a sticker (like any PZEV vehicle, like a Gasoline PZEV Focus) or ones that overstayed their welcome (the Prius with the yellow sticker program)
Correct. In order to qualify for the old yellow HOV stickers, they had to be PZEV, had to be hybrids and also have at least 45 mpg on the old EPA test. But re: "overstayed their welcome", the yellow stickers hit their final limit of 85K (got raised a few times, as well) sometime in 2007. And, all the yellow HOV stickers expired and became invalid on 7/1/2011.

One can dig thru old archives of Subject Top Page: ELIGIBLE VEHICLES - SINGLE OCCUPANT CARPOOL LANE USE STICKERS to see the chronology, limit increases (or not) and so on.
 
Correct. In order to qualify for the old yellow HOV stickers, they had to be PZEV, had to be hybrids and also have at least 45 mpg on the old EPA test. But re: "overstayed their welcome", the yellow stickers hit their final limit of 85K (got raised a few times, as well) sometime in 2007. And, all the yellow HOV stickers expired and became invalid on 7/1/2011.

One can dig thru old archives of Subject Top Page: ELIGIBLE VEHICLES - SINGLE OCCUPANT CARPOOL LANE USE STICKERS to see the chronology, limit increases (or not) and so on.
Perhaps the phrasing was bad, but yes, I was referring to the run of stickers that the Prius got. Calculating it, stickers were started in 2005, so they got 6 years out of it, so it wasn't really too long, but still longer than the original expiration date of the green stickers that began issuing in 2012 (expiration was January 1, 2015, so only 3 years). Given this was previously updated to January 2019, then it's 7 years for the green stickers.
 
I swear Toyota must have the CA legislators in their back pocket! They first got the Yellow stickers approved when they had pretty much the only car that could take advantage of it. Now, when they have no EV's, they would certainly benefit from extension of the green sticker at the expensive of the white.
And of course, the the income restriction is a direct strike at GM (ELR) and Porsche which are typically purchased by much higher income families than a Prius. Toyota is THE primary enemy of the EV (and our trade deficit!).


Sorry, posted before I saw this.... Amen!
"Better answer is I do not trust Toyota. Not their cars, not their management, not their politics.
I believe Toyota is the currently the biggest threat to the EV industry in the entire world."
 
Update to Oct. When the first Plug in Prius went out of production, and inventory ran out, the Green Stickers were cancelled.

Now... Toyota has released a Second Plug In Prius, and guess what is once again available?

You guessed it, perfect timing. Coincidence? Sure.
 
"Also, GM sold the Nimh battery patents to Chevron, which refused to license them for larger battery packs (ending the source of Panasonic batteries for the RAV4 EV). Toyota actually made an unusual move of selling the vehicles to the public, even though they could have stuck with a lease like everyone else. If GM didn't make the patent move, Toyota could have continued selling the RAV4 EV.
Toyota RAV4 EV - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia"

This argument doesn't make any sense to me. Toyota DID make and sell the RAV4 EV gen 2 with the Tesla Li-ion battery pack after the patent sale. There is no way Toyota could have/would have continued using NiMH which makes the patent excuse untenable. And insinuating that GM was behind Toyota's decision to stop making EVs is illogical. Toyota position is that EVs are not practical. They have even produced ads bashing EVs over hybrids.