How much to replace a battery pack? Who knows - I've yet to meet anybody who has had to replace one.
I'll believe any number you tell me. But as this technology continues, it's a certain bet to say that it will cost less in 3 years than today.
I view the subsidies as simply a matter of "casting bread upon the water".
A classic example - the technology that came out of the space program.
The forced advances brought on by government money seemed egregious at the time, but today, you can drop two quarters into a gumball machine and get a LCD watch.
How much do you pay for your satellite link? Maybe the hospital doesn't need one?
If we wait for the markets - especially the oil markets - to dictate a transportation direction, we'll always be behind the 8-ball.
Is the market for hybrids artificial? For the time being, yes. But while we didn't think we needed cars when we had trains, it didn't stop government from paving roads.
Public service airports are largely held by regions or municipalities, and subsidized by the same.
The government gave 200,000,000 acres in land grants to the railroads as an incentive to make commerce and transportation more efficient.
New York State money built the Erie canal.
Government carrots-on-sticks is how long-range American transportation and technology issues have been mapped for 200 years. Hybrid subsidies fall right into that category.
