President Obama set a national goal of putting 1 million hybrid cars on American roads by the 2015 during his State of the Union Address on January 28, 2011. The statement was of little consequence to the political pundits because it was over shadowed by more pressing matters of national importance. The statement was largely ignored by everyone except for those in the automotive industry. Even those in the automotive industry didn’t give much heed as it would mean making hybrid cars affordable to the public at large. The manufacturing infrastructure just isn’t in place to meet the goal.

On March 30, 2011 President Obama gave a speech at George Town University concerning the U.S. energy policies. During this speech, he announced that starting in 2015, all new cars and trucks bought by the federal government will be hybrids, electric vehicles and other alternative-fuel vehicles. He continued to state that the administration plans to form partnerships with private companies “that want to upgrade their large fleets” with alternative-fuel vehicles.  

The federal government has over 600,000 vehicles in its inventory. During FY 2010, the General Service Administration (GSA), the agency overseeing the government fleet, purchased 145,473 vehicles - approximately 10% were hybrids. Could this be Obama’s grand plan to create manufacturing infrastructure to mass produce hybrid vehicles? Creating “partnerships” with private companies could mean more government money given to the auto manufactures to restructure factories to meet the goal of producing 145,000 hybrid vehicles a year.

Is Obama’s plan a stroke of genius or insanity? America’s dependence on foreign oil greatly impacts our foreign policies. Auto manufactures have no motivation to break this dependence. Retooling manufacturing plants would cost millions of dollars. Government leading the way and providing incentives could create mass production of hybrid vehicles. Mass productions of hybrid vehicles would drive down the cost of hybrids making them more attractive to the average consumer. More fuel efficient hybrid vehicles would reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil.

On the other hand, this could be another costly demonstration of government inefficiency. Government has poured millions of dollars into hybrid technologies for years with no real positive measurable results. We can be looking at another squander of public funds in a grand proportion if the plan fails. Additionally, Obama will be facing another election in 2012. Will his predecessor continue with his ambitious goal, should Obama not win? Only time will tell.