California EV rebates ran out of cash in a flash

In a bid to help Californians lessen their carbon footprints and heighten their green cred, the State of California has -- in cooperation with the California Center for Sustainable Energy -- issued a total of $1.62 million for owners of eligible alternative-fuel vehicles.

Now, this is a wonderful initiative. However, even at the time of the press release, the CCSE had already reached the end of its budget for vehicles running on compressed gas, leaving the rather short list of eligible vehicles even shorter, with only the Vectrix Maxiscooter and some GEM cars eligible for any kind of rebate until the fund is fueled with more cash, which is unlikely to happen until midway through next year as this fund was set to last until March 31, 2009.

While it kind of dampens the mood a bit for the non-electric car owners, it shows some foresight on the part of CCSE. They earmarked part of the money for fully electric vehicles, leaving open some space for people who might consider going electric in the near future.

Also, we can only hope that the success of this grant will encourage it to pour even more money into this in the next round, because it's the sad truth that many of us won't budge a millimeter unless we're shown a wad of cash.

If I lived in California and wasn't living off my student loans, I will gladly admit I would have jumped at the chance to get what essentially amounts to a 11-13% discount on a sexy little electric scooter.

Via CCSE