Now this is what I love seeing…the government putting their money into the Big 3 in a big way. I know I’ve been harsh on the president in my last few posts, but I for one don’t like the idea of bankrupting GM, which seems to be the plan of the current administration.
As part of the administration’s $787 billion stimulus package, the feds plan to spend $300 million to replace its current fleet of vehicles. Some $285 million of that amount will be used to purchase some 17,600 new vehicles from the Detroit 3 automakers by June 1st. Each new vehicle will be required to manage at least a 10 percent improvement in overall fuel efficiency to be considered for purchase.
In the first wave of orders will be 2,500 hybrid sedans and the sales will be finalized on April 15th. We’re not sure how the sales will be divided amongst Ford, GM and Chrysler, but Chrysler doesn’t have a hybrid to offer so it seems that they might be out of the running.
The remaining $15 million of the program money will be used for pilot programs focusing on “commercially available compressed natural gas and hybrid buses, and all-electric vehicles.” Obama said that this action will end up “saving the government significant money over time.”
Upgrading the government’s current fleet for more fuel efficient models will save 1.3 million gallons of fuel per year and lower carbon emissions by 26 million pounds.
