Considering all of the press that has been inked (or typed) regarding both John McCain's and Barrack Obama's various plans for the ailing automotive industry in America, you may think that the two hopeful presidential candidates would be in tune with the plight of the average driver who fills his or her tank. Or not. It seems that Republican John McCain is not aware of how much a gallon of gas costs. In fact, he says, "I don't recall, and frankly, I don't see how it matters." We have no intention of pushing any sort of political agenda, and this writer in particular is not attempting to back either politician with this writing, but the question begs to be asked: how in the world could somebody living in the United States not know how much gas costs today? Every time the news is turned on or the internet is fired up, citizens are bombarded with constant reminders that gas has crested the $4 a gallon mark. It must take a really busy man to be completely unaware of the price of gasoline these days.

Update: McCain apparently knew the price of gas when he gave a speech on June 18. See here.

[Source: Auto Observer]

The two major U.S. presidential candidates, Barrack Obama and John McCain, have both expressed an interest in investing Federal money into green automotive technology. Although both men have differing ideas about what may be the best way to move forward, it's becoming clear that green automotive technology will be a point for debate as the election nears. This week, Obama visited with leading members of the Detroit automotive scene, including Rick Wagoner from General Motors and Alan Mulally from Ford, both of whom seemed pleased with how the dialogue went. When asked by Obama what he, as President, could do to help the ailing auto industry in the U.S., Wagoner responded by suggesting that the government contribute funds into the research and development of emerging technologies, such as automotive batteries. Maybe more than $30m, perhaps?

Assuming that the cost for new eco-friendly technology will be passed on to the consumer, Wagoner also suggested that the government make it easier to get into a new green car, which has been done to good effect with hybrid vehicles already. Obama, for his part, said he saw "surprising consensus" among the automotive industry representatives, so we'd imagine similar suggestions were heard all around.

Update: Fixed Rick Wagoner's name, thanks!

[Sources: The Detroit News, Automotive News - sub. req'd]

John McCain's (R) call for a $300 million prize for better automotive battery is still making waves. The latest to raise a voice are the people who are already offering some prize money for cleaner cars: the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE. Of course, the AXP is a much smaller prize purse ($10m) and is for an entire car and production plans. Don Foley, the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE's executive director, has issued the following statement (read the entire release after the break):

We commend Senator McCain for recognizing that great innovations can arise from the spirit of competition. But creating a new battery is only part of a broader challenge to solve our country's energy crisis and dependence on foreign oil. We must also look seriously at developing new vehicles, especially those that are production capable. There's no single path to energy independence; we need to explore many different technologies, fuels and vehicles before the American public can determine the most practical, environmentally-friendly and energy conscious solution for the future. We commend all public and private sector efforts to bring attention to these issues, including those by our title sponsor Progressive, and we look forward to being a part of the solution.

So, it's not really a put down - the AXP wouldn't dare - but it does bolster the general criticisms that have been issued in response to McCain's idea that it just isn't well thought out. Democrats Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi, for example, have both criticized McCain's proposal.

[Source: X PRIZE Foundation]

Republican presidential candidate John McCain has come out swinging RE energy issues these last few days, with the two big stories for us being the $300m battery prize money and all that talk about nuclear. Of course, the Democrats can't let all these ideas go un-remarked upon, right? 'Coure not. Therefore, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement yesterday (pasted after the break) on McCain's energy proposals. As far as the battery money goes, Pelosi did not criticize the idea directly, but instead took aiim at McCain's previous lack of support for "more efficient cars, new energy technologies and green jobs" and she repeatedly connected him to still President Bush. Not the most effective strategy to shoot down an opponent's proposals, perhaps, but this is politics, not a real debate. I think our own readers did a fine job of pointing out some of the flaws in McCain's proposal. Maybe Pelosi should be taking tips from y'all.

Photo by Marcn. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

Following the economist revolt against John McCain's "gas tax holiday" idea, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is going to try and change the current dialogue about his stance on climate change. He will do this by getting into specifics today, according to chief McCain surrogate and economic adviser Carly Fiorina. As WIRED puts it, Fiorina is working hard to distance McCain's environmental stances from those of President Bush, and it's likely that emphasizing this difference will be a big part of the new message. We don't know if McCain will offer any new ideas for cleaning up transportation, but there is that McCain-Lieberman carbon emissions bill that's been floating around for five years. We'll see what, if any, new details emerge before we take a stand on the latest proposal from McCain. Daily Kos, though, is ready with their take on McCain's environmental record.

[Source: WIRED, h/t to 1985 Gripen]

Photo by SEIU International. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

Man, all this presidential candidate pandering is getting out of control. When John McCain first talked about saving the average family $30 on gas taxes over the summer by instituting a "gas tax holiday," it was easily pegged as a pretty dumb idea that wouldn't do much to help with the average family's budget or with America's addiction to oil. Still, calling for lower taxes is a time-honored pander in American politics, and McCain was soon followed by Hillary Clinton in singing the praises of the tax holiday idea. Her plan includes charging the oil companies $8b to pay for the tax holiday, which McCain's doesn't.

Clinton spent the weekend defending her support, and did so in a bizarre way. During an Indiana town-hall meeting, she did not give ABC host George Stephanopoulos an answer to his question about which economists support the tax holiday. Instead, she tried to argue that the lack of expert/economist support for the idea just means that "elite opinion" is against the working class on this issue.

Clinton and her Democratic rival, Barack Obama, continue to fight over the issue today, with Obama rightly calling the holiday idea a "gimmick" (although, as AutoblogGreen readers have pointed out, he did support a state gas tax holiday back when he was in the Illinois Legislature). In a CBS News/New York Times poll that was released yesterday, voters came out against the holiday: 49 percent said it was a bad idea, 45 said it was good.

[Source: Talking Points Memo, LA Times, Washington Post]

Photo by Soggydan. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

Here's an idea only a presidential candidate could love. The presumptive Republican nominee for president, John McCain, today proposed the federal government suspend U.S. gasoline taxes for the summer. On the face of it, I'll admit, there might be a lot of people who love this idea, but it certainly doesn't make a lot of long term sense, either for the economy (isn't our debt high enough already?) or for our efforts to break our addiction to oil.

First, here's the plan: McCain suggests a "gas-tax holiday" that would suspend the federal gas tax (currently set at 18.4 cents a gallon) and the diesel tax ( 24.4 cents) between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Second, let's put this in context and mention that today is when oil prices climbed up and over the $112-a-barrel price for the first time.

Look, it does hurt the wallet to fill up at the pump these days. And calling for relief is a sure way to get people to like you, something most politicians don't turn away from. But, if the tax were removed today, nation gas prices would be around $3.20 a gallon. Is that relief? The next few years (decades?) are going to be painful as we move from gasoline-powered personal transportation to the many and exciting alternatives. High gas prices will help us move to alternatives, as Center for Automotive Research chairman David Cole pointed out last year. Nobody wants to hear this, but it's the truth.

[Source: Associated Press]