Turns out there may be reason to doubt the Department of Energy's monitoring of the $25 billion Advanced Technlogy Vehicle loan program -- the program that's helping to fund various manfacturers' forays (Ford, Nissan, GM, Tesla, Fisker) into EV and hybrid car production. The Detroit News' David Shephard has drawn everyone's attention to a 39-page government report released by the General Accountability Office (GAO), and the report has various disturbing observations.
Rather worrying is the repeated contention that Energy Department staffers lack the engineering expertise to monitor the viability of the various manufacturing programs.
"Although ATVM program procedures call for sufficient expertise to help oversee borrowers’ compliance with the loans’ technical requirements, the ATVM program has not yet engaged such engineering expertise and without it, cannot be sure that the projects are being
delivered as agreed."
Detroit News, GAO via Jalopnik
Then, there's the suggestion that the DOE's performance measures ultimately won't tell us much about the Advanced Technology Vehicle loan program's effectiveness at improving corporate average fuel economy and reducing emissions.
"The current ATVM program performance measures assess (1) the extent to which the average fuel economy of vehicles manufactured through projects funded by the ATVM program has increased over the average fuel economy of similar vehicles in model year 2005, expressed in percentage terms, and (2) the extent to which the petroleum used by vehicles manufactured through projects funded by the ATVM program has decreased from the amount used by similar vehicles in model year 2005, expressed in millions of gallons of fuel per year."
"The two performance measures stop short of enabling DOE to account for the effect of the ATVM program on the fuel economy of the passenger vehicles in use in the United States as a whole because they do not put the fuel economy improvements of vehicles funded by the program into the broader context of total U.S. passenger vehicle fuel economy.... Assessing achievement of the overall goal would require DOE to put those specific achievements into the context of the fuel economy of all passenger vehicles in the United States and would require accounting for several factors, including the number and type of ATVM-funded vehicles consumers buy, the number and type of vehicles currently on the road that consumers replace with ATVM-funded vehicles, and the extent to which consumers use the ATVM-funded vehicles as compared with the vehicles they replaced."
Finally, the GAO draws attention indirectly to the breathless mpg claims being appended to EVs and plug-in hybrids -- claims that don't take into account the incredibly variable cost of electricity. Here are some of the DOE's estimates:
Fisker Nina: 111 mpg
Fisker Karma: 86 mpg
Tesla Model S: 111 mpg
Nissan Leaf: 165 mpg (though it's actually rated at 106 city/92 highway/99 combined)
cwc1 says:
07:25 PM, 03/30/11
And these are the people that want to be our latex salesmen (seizing our healthcare, mortgages, student loans, and our lives?). Just say no.
throwback says:
06:33 AM, 03/31/11
"Energy Department staffers lack the engineering expertise to monitor the viability of the various manufacturing programs."
It's government, is anyone really surprised? As someone who watched the TARP hearings closely (work related), I was shocked at how little our elected reps know about basic economics and accounting. The fact that DOE staff don't have the engineering expertise to make decisions, (however have the authority to dole out tax dollars) is entirely in keeping with SOP for our bloated government.
stoppre75 says:
06:52 AM, 03/31/11
If you're over 65 or poor, they already run your healthcare. They have, and will continue to hold your mortgage. The cheapest student loans are directly from them....so what are you getting at?
When you create a program such as the ATVM as a show of face for "being green", but fail to sufficiently staff it this is what you get. Politics is about saving face and being able to point to things and saying you did that. Success isn't measured by results in their world. Until government agencies are held accountable, the status quo won't change.
seppoboy says:
07:02 AM, 03/31/11
Don't be silly, results don't matter, only intentions do. You really don't understand progressive government, do you?
bodyblue says:
07:47 AM, 03/31/11
"progressive government".......that is a scary phrase........this is just one more indication of the amateurs and bumbling college professors along with 60s radicals infesting the government. The Obama regime is revolting.
tmanz says:
08:51 AM, 03/31/11
so a government agency is spending our money with no real knowledge on the subject and no concern for results. Give me a bit to work on my shocked expression.