While we've had several Bay Area localities
endorse Plug-In Partners, the press release
below, from Plug-In Bay Area (see our coverage of
its launch event at
http://www.calcars.org/­calcars-news/­478.html
and
http://www.calcars.org/­calcars-news/­501.html),
reports on the first real "soft order".

For Immediate Release September 22, 2006

MARIN COUNTY FIRST IN BAY AREA TO ORDER PLUG-IN HYBRIDS

SAN FRANCISCO - Plug-In Bay Area, a recently launched initiative aimed at putting Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles on Bay Area roads, today announced that Marin County will be the first Bay Area municipality to place a soft fleet order for 22 of the vehicles. Plug-in Hybrids, which are capable of 100+ miles per gallon, add battery power and a plug to a conventional hybrid while retaining a flexible fuel gas tank. This allows for all-electric, zero-emissions driving locally, and the ability to shift to gas for longer distances.

Plug-In Bay Area is the newest chapter of Plug-In Partners, a national grassroots initiative intended to demonstrate to automakers the burgeoning demand for plug-in vehicles via "soft orders," which are declarations of intent to purchase plug-ins once they are commercially available. Locally, the cities of San Francisco, Berkeley and Alameda have passed resolutions supporting the development and commercialization of these vehicles, but Marin County is the first to place an order.

"Marin County should be applauded for taking the first step toward a cleaner, healthier Bay Area," said Rainforest Action Network's Jodie van Horn, coordinator of Plug-In Bay Area. "Automakers should take this initial Bay Area soft order - and others like it being placed around the country - as a challenge to begin building plug-in hybrid vehicles on a mass scale. We encourage the rest of the Bay Area to follow Marin's example so we can finally get these cars on the road and declare our independence from oil."

"This is a technology whose time has arrived," said Susan Adams, president of the Marin County Board of Supervisors, which passed a resolution supporting plug-ins on August 22. "Plug-in hybrids get upwards of 100 miles per gallon, they emit fewer pollutants, and they can ease our dependence on oil. Now we just need the manufacturers to start building them."

The goal of Plug-In Bay Area is to bring the Bay Area and America closer to energy independence by implementing gasoline-optional plug-in transportation technology. Plug-in hybrids, which combine liquid and electric fuel, offer an exciting and timely solution to the nation's dependence on foreign oil, high gasoline costs, poor air quality, and climate change. By building demand for plug-ins via soft orders, advocates are pressuring the auto industry to make the vehicles commercially available.

Regional Plug-In Bay Area organizers include Rainforest Action Network, Bluewater Network, PG&E, CalCars, and Plug-In America.

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Sam Haswell
Communications Director
Rainforest Action Network
(415) 398-4404 x319

Jodie Van Horn
Coordinator
Plug-In Bay Area
Rainforest Action Network
415-398-4404 x309