House Proposes Plug-In Hybrid Tax Credits

In its version of the Obama economic stimulus package, the House of Representatives has included a disappearing tax credit for plug-in hybrid cars, similar to the confusing disappearing tax credit for non-plug in gasoline hybrid cars.

The credit consists of $2,500 per passenger car, plus $417 for each kWh of battery capacity over the first 4 kWh. The credit is limited to $7,500 for a vehicle with GVW less than 10,000lbs, but does increase to $10,000 for a vehicle with GVW up to 14,000lbs, and up to $15,000 for vehicles with GVW up to 26,000lbs.

The credit will start to phase out 3 months after 250,000 plug-in hybrids have been sold in the U.S., dropping to 50% for the next 6 months, then 25% for the next 6 months, and then going away completely.

So, for example, the Chevy Volt with its claimed 16 kWh battery would qualify for $2,500 + 12 * $417 = $7,500 (what a coincidence!)

SEC. 205. CREDIT FOR NEW QUALIFIED PLUG-IN ELECTRIC DRIVE MOTOR VEHICLES.

(a) Plug-in Electric Drive Motor Vehicle Credit- Subpart B of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 (relating to other credits) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

`SEC. 30D. NEW QUALIFIED PLUG-IN ELECTRIC DRIVE MOTOR VEHICLES.

`(a) Allowance of Credit-

`(1) IN GENERAL- There shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by this chapter for the taxable year an amount equal to the applicable amount with respect to each new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle placed in service by the taxpayer during the taxable year.

`(2) APPLICABLE AMOUNT- For purposes of paragraph (1), the applicable amount is sum of--

`(A) $2,500, plus

`(B) $417 for each kilowatt hour of traction battery capacity in excess of 4 kilowatt hours.

`(b) Limitations-

`(1) LIMITATION BASED ON WEIGHT- The amount of the credit allowed under subsection (a) by reason of subsection (a)(2) shall not exceed--

`(A) $7,500, in the case of any new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of not more than 10,000 pounds,

`(B) $10,000, in the case of any new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds but not more than 14,000 pounds,

`(C) $12,500, in the case of any new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 14,000 pounds but not more than 26,000 pounds, and

`(D) $15,000, in the case of any new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 26,000 pounds.

`(2) LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF PASSENGER VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS ELIGIBLE FOR CREDIT-

`(A) IN GENERAL- In the case of a new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle sold during the phaseout period, only the applicable percentage of the credit otherwise allowable under subsection (a) shall be allowed.

`(B) PHASEOUT PERIOD- For purposes of this subsection, the phaseout period is the period beginning with the second calendar quarter following the calendar quarter which includes the first date on which the total number of such new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles sold for use in the United States after December 31, 2008, is at least 250,000.

`(C) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE- For purposes of subparagraph (A), the applicable percentage is--

`(i) 50 percent for the first 2 calendar quarters of the phaseout period,

`(ii) 25 percent for the 3d and 4th calendar quarters of the phaseout period, and

`(iii) 0 percent for each calendar quarter thereafter.

`(D) CONTROLLED GROUPS- Rules similar to the rules of section 30B(f)(4) shall apply for purposes of this subsection.

`(c) New Qualified Plug-in Electric Drive Motor Vehicle- For purposes of this section, the term `new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle' means a motor vehicle--

`(1) which draws propulsion using a traction battery with at least 4 kilowatt hours of capacity,

`(2) which uses an offboard source of energy to recharge such battery,

`(3) which, in the case of a passenger vehicle or light truck which has a gross vehicle weight rating of not more than 8,500 pounds, has received a certificate of conformity under the Clean Air Act and meets or exceeds the equivalent qualifying California low emission vehicle standard under section 243(e)(2) of the Clean Air Act for that make and model year, and

`(A) in the case of a vehicle having a gross vehicle weight rating of 6,000 pounds or less, the Bin 5 Tier II emission standard established in regulations prescribed by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under section 202(i) of the Clean Air Act for that make and model year vehicle, and

`(B) in the case of a vehicle having a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 6,000 pounds but not more than 8,500 pounds, the Bin 8 Tier II emission standard which is so established,

`(4) the original use of which commences with the taxpayer,

`(5) which is acquired for use or lease by the taxpayer and not for resale, and

`(6) which is made by a manufacturer.

I Windows 7 Beta Test

For fun, I downloaded the Windows 7 Beta DVD ISO from Microsoft. I made a second partition on my second HDD, and installed it. It was painless, and didn't take long.

Windows 7 is, so far, running like a champ. It seems about as responsive as Vista, no worse in my unscientific opinion. It recognized all of my hardware, such as my TV tuner card, video card, and monitor, and is talking to my network. It is the "Ultimate" version, which means it comes with Windows Media Center, which is nice.

If you have about 16 gigabytes to spare, give it a whirl it isn't bad.

Video: IAF Hits Rocket Launchers

Amazing video from Israel's air force showing Hamas' rocket launchers being destroyed on the ground.



These primitive rockets, with no guidance abilities, are being launched wildly into Israeli towns. They are a classic terror weapon, like the buzz-bombs of the Luftwaffe.

Video: Johns Hopkins Mousetrap Car Slalom

Remember that mousetrap powered car project you had to do in high school physics class? At Johns Hopkins University, engineering freshmen have to go the next step and make a mousetrap car that does a slalom and then drives straight to the finish line. Video below, hat tip to If It's Got An Engine. When I was in school, none of my engineering professors were as cute as the one in the video.

GMAC Bank

I was looking around at who had the best CD rates in our ever-lower interest rate era, and I found that GMAC Bank has very nice rates, 4% for 1 year, compared with the average of 2%. I am planning on taking them up on it. 4% 12 month CDs are not growing on trees right now.

Now, before you shout that GMAC may go bankrupt, and eat my deposits, know that GMAC Bank is FDIC insured. So even if GMAC did go bankrupt, and GMAC Bank is a division of GMAC, FDIC would step in, and in a few days I would have my money back.

This is in contrast with the GMAC Demand Notes (5.25%) or Ford Motor Credit's Interest Advantage (3.9-4.2%), which are unsecured loans directly to the companies. If you are invested in GMAC Demand Notes or Ford Motor Credit Interest Advantage, you should re-evaluate your tolerance for financial risk right away, because I am guessing that you are investing money you consider "safe", but what you are buying is basically a junk bond.

And, by putting money in GMAC, I can help GM by providing badly needed cash to their lending arm, and helping support the Detroit auto industry.

There are some downsides to GMAC Bank. It are online-only, so if you want to be able to talk to a human being about your account, the only option is the telephone. It also doesn't support direct connection through Quicken or Microsoft Money, if you want to download transactions you have to use the manual download feature on your account page.

Note: GMAC did not sponsor this post or influence it in any way.

Windshield GPS MN

Did you know that it is against the law to mount accessories (such as GPS) to the windshield in Minnesota, and recently was in California?

Read here about Minnesota.

California law changes in January 2009 to allow GPS units, but they must be located at the lower left or lower right corner of the winshield.

In other news, Minnesota is considering a law to require Minnesotans to tie their shoes with double-knots, to prevent accidental tripping.

Star Wars Republic Commando On Vista

I recently bought Star Wars Republic Commando, a Lucas Arts squad based shooter. It wouldn't run on my machine ("SWRepublicCommando.exe has stopped working").

I got it running by doing two things: first, I set SWRepublicCommando.exe to run as administrator. Second, in the game, under the graphics settings, I set "bump-mapping" to low.