The California Air Resources Board this week adopted a brand new package of air quality requirements and restrictions, THE most comprehensive, and some say, crippling to consumers, in US history.

In a press release from the Union Of Concerned Scientists,   the CAARB (California Air Resources Board) adopted a series of restrictions they claim will save the average consumer $4,000 over the life of a car sold in 2025, and supposedly put over 21,000 people to work...but they don't specifically say how this plan will do it.    The most alarming part of the the report is singificant change to the Zero Emissions Vehicle program, now requiring that a whopping %15 of all new vehicle sales in CA by 2025 have to be zero emissions (electric or hybrid) automobiles.  From the press release:

""These robust, zero-emission vehicle standards will provide the market assurance automakers and the energy industry need to transform the electric vehicle into a mass-market success," said Don Anair, senior engineer with the UCS Clean Vehicles program. "This landmark initiative will strengthen California's emerging electric vehicles industry, creating jobs and making zero-emission vehicles more affordable for consumers."

Ten other states have already adopted California’s ZEV program, nearly tripling the impact of California’s program on the electric-car market."

Not sure who they are fooling with these programs or ideas, but at last check, sales of electric vehicles, the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf, have fallen thousands below sales projections.   Chevy had hoped to sell over 10,000 Volts; that number is several thousand below.   Numerous Chevy dealers will not take the Volt because of concerns over post-crash battery fires.   And the Union For Concerned Scientists doesn't realize that many average Americans cannot and will not plunk down 41K for a Volt, or just over 33K for a leaf.   Now, there is a 7500 Federal Credit for purchasing such a car, which drives the price down, and some states throw in an additional 3-5000.   But even if the American public is ready for such vehicles,  critics say the public doesn't want to be squeezed, or worse yet, economically blackmailed into purchasing such vehicles.  

 Note that ten other states have copied, or begun to copy, CA emission laws...how long before the folks in Olympia start trying to do this to Washington residents?   An electric powere pickup truck?  We don't think so...

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