California Legislature Approves Carpool Lane Incentives For Hybrids

Despite a late lobbying push by the Ford Motor Co., the California legislature approved a measure that will allow some hybrid vehicle drivers to access the state's "carpool lanes," even when driving alone, as an incentive to purchase ultra-fuel-efficient vehicles. Ford's lobbying effort fell short of stopping the bill with one Republican senator calling the company's chairman a "billionaire crybaby," and accusing him of "unmitigated gall." Because the Schwarzenegger Administration backed the bill with state Treasurer Phil Angelides (D), the...