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Bill To Reduce Hybrid Car Costs Rejected April 2005A bill designed to increase production of hybrid cars and lower their price by allowing manufacturers to sell directly to motorists was rejected by an Assembly committee.The measure, which was supported by several environmental groups but opposed by auto dealers and manufacturers, went down to defeat Monday night on a 4-4 vote in the Transportation Committee. It needed at least seven votes, a majority of the 13-member committee, to pass. Five lawmakers didn't vote. The bill would allow manufacturers and others who obtained a special license from the Department of Motor Vehicles to sell new hybrids and other super-low-emission vehicles directly over the Internet. Currently, those sales must go through an auto dealer. Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, argued that his legislation would encourage manufacturers to produce more hybrids because they could make more money by selling them themselves. Currently, buyers have a four-to-eight-month waiting period for the popular, high-mileage cars, he said. "Manufacturers are not producing them fast enough," he said. "Why? Because they have greater profit margins on huge, gas-guzzling SUVs." Buyers would also save under the bill, he said, because the price of the car through the manufacturer would probably still be less than if bought through a dealer. The Consumer Federation of America estimated the savings would be 10 percent to 15 percent. "It's really about an open and free market and more competition in the marketplace," Leno said. "This will really help California as we address very serious air quality problems," said Bonnie Holmes-Gen, a lobbyist for the American Lung Association. But the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers sided with the California Motor Car Dealers Association in opposing the bill. Eugene Erbin, a lobbyist for the alliance, said the bill would raise warranty issues, complaint issues and lemon law issues and that people would be better off buying cars at dealerships where they could examine them first. "These are extremely expensive products," he said. "We think you should kick the tires and lift up the (hood)." Brian Maas, a lobbyist for the California Motor Car Dealers Association, said the bill raised questions about how the cars would be delivered and who would make repairs. He also said the bill could cost cities with auto dealerships sales tax revenue. Leno suggested that manufacturers opposed the bill because they didn't want to strain relations with their dealers and said concerns raised by the bill's opponents could be worked out. The committee heard about an hour of testimony on the bill on April 18 and then voted on it Monday night. Assembly members Jenny Oropeza, D-Long Beach, Wilma Chan, D-Oakland, Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, and Mark Ridley-Thomas, D-Los Angeles, voted for the bill. It was opposed by Assembly members Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, Russ Bogh, R-Beaumont, Dennis Mountjoy, R-Monrovia, and Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks. Five committee members Shirley Horton, R-Bonita, Betty Karnette, D-Long Beach, Carol Liu, D-South Pasadena, Simon Salinas, D-Salinas, and Alberto Torrico, D-Fremont didn't vote. SOURCE: SF Gate | ||
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