Jump to content
News
Reviews
Discussons
Activity
Create New...
Close

  • 🚗 Your People Are Here. Get In.

    The internet is full of car content. This is the community.

    Cheers & Gears has been bringing enthusiasts together since 2001. Join the conversation, show off your garage, and find your people.

  • William Maley
    William Maley

    By William Maley •

    Senators Slam The Energy Department’s Auto Loan Program

    William Maley

    Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com

    March 16, 2012

    This week, Senators on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee criticized the Energy Department on their handling of the $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing initiative.

    Created in 2007, the Energy Department has only given out less than half of the funds during the four years of existence. Only four companies have gotten their loans; Ford, Nissan, Fisker Automotive, and Tesla.

    The Energy Department hasn’t given out any loans within two years and that has caused many companies to drop out.

    Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said many companies have expressed deep frustration about not getting a loan answer. She went onto say the program was "virtually dormant.”

    Energy Secretary Steven Chu defended the handling of the program,

    "We would like to see private equity invested in these companies," Chu said, adding the government wants to see evidence of private support.

    Other senators on the committee wonder why the program even exist.

    When leaving the hearing, Chu told reporters that the department was working with "many qualified applicants" to complete new auto and other green energy loans. When asked if any would be approved before the election, Chu said,

    "There's no reason not to. The conditions of the program haven't changed."

    Source: The Detroit News

    Go to articles

    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    G. David Felt

    SOB Politicians, does not matter what party they are from, they all want to use the programs as punching bags to get their butts back into office where they do nothing.

    Very sad and pathetic lack of duty to America by the folks that should represent us and cover core repsonsibilities. This does not include giving everything to everyone.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    loki

    research has shown that $1 of gov investment displaces ~$1.25 of private investment. now, if you support science, which one sounds better, your tax money at work, or someones own interest in progress?

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    crash900s

    I do wish they had granted Aptera a loan. I wanted one of those even if were downgraded to motorcycle classification like the Zap Alias. I also want one of those but prefer the Aptera. I wouldn't drive any of the X-prize winners except maybe x-tracer and that literally is just a motorcycle.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    riviera74

    They could just cancel and defund the program entirely, but that would require taking action rather than complaining all the time. The only thing worse are the tax breaks for non-conventional vehicles, which should also be repealed for the same reasons: waste of taxpayer dollars and an excessive distortion of the auto markets.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites


    Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
    Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

    Guest
    Add a comment...

    ×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

      Only 75 emoji are allowed.

    ×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

    ×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

    ×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

    ×



  • Support Independent Automotive Journalism

    25 years of honest automotive coverage — because someone has to do it.

    Cheers & Gears has never been filtered by manufacturer relationships or driven by algorithm. Just real people, real opinions, and a genuine love of cars. Subscribers keep the lights on and get an ad-light experience starting at $2.25/month.*

    View subscription options

    *A small number of ads feature member-exclusive coupon deals and will still appear.

  • Posts

    • trinacriabob
      Random Thoughts Thread

      By trinacriabob · Posted

      Happy Mother's Day to the mothers in our lives - family, friends, coworkers  She came to mind, so I looked for a gif on her.  She is originally from Buffalo!  Most people have doubles.  I don't think she does. Happy Sunday.
    • G. David Felt
      Random Thoughts Thread

      By G. David Felt · Posted

      Having looked at all the images online, I have to say that the interior and exterior other than the color which I like is a let down and I would even say for a Luxury brand looks cheap.
    • G. David Felt
      Random Thoughts Thread

      By G. David Felt · Posted

      Due to my tradeshow season, do not have the time till June to do any writeups, but Lexus has released their Luxury version 3 row SUV EV that Toyota released as the Highlander and Subaru also has. Clearly not connected to the ICE Spindale grill or as many of us called the Predator mouth. https://pressroom.lexus.com/all-electric-three-row-luxury-the-all-new-2027-lexus-tz/ The press release says 300 miles of range on Select Grade. Look at the fine print, this is a sea level level road, anything else is 250 to 280 miles of range. FAILURE Lexus / Toyota along with the 400V system.
    • ccap41
      Discussion:Ultium Twins to hit the market soon from Honda / Acura

      By ccap41 · Posted

      After doing a bunch of research on this, it isn't so much Honda/Acura are limiting charging speeds as it is the battery pack total size directly correlates to the rate of charge they can accept. The Prologue and non-SS Blazer EV have 85kWh batteries at 288 total volts and the ZDX/Lyriq/Blazer EV SS all have the larger 102kWh battery at 345 total volts.  Because of the way the Ultium platforms have multiple pack sizes that can and are linked together to make larger or smaller packs, the total pack volts varies based on the application and why the Hummer/Silverado/Sierra EVs can charge at 800v when they're still on 400v architecture.  Because kW = amps * volts, the bigger packs have more nominal volts because they have more cells.  Below is a Prologue example and change the 288v for the Prologue to 345v for the larger packs of the Lyriq, ZDX, or Blazer EV SS and you get 190kW for the maximum (or do the math for the other chargers, as well)
    • crvette_guy
      Serious TBI Question

      By crvette_guy · Posted

      Is there a good 4150 four barrel TBI with DBW compatibility?

  • Who's Online (See full list)

    • There are no registered users currently online

  • My Clubs

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

I've whitelisted
Continue without support

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search