McCain says he would offer $300 million prize for ‘futuristic car battery’

While Obama is promising to meet with the Detroit 3 early on in his presidency, Republican John McCain said today that if he is elected president he would challenger American experts to develop a futuristic car battery and will award them $300 million prize.

“Whether it takes a meeting with automakers during my first month in office, or my signature on an act of Congress, we will meet the goal of a swift conversion of American vehicles away from oil,” McCain told a town hall meeting in Fresno, in rural central California.

Citing Brazil as an example, McCain said that the South America country converted most new cars to flex-fuel going from 5 to 70 percent of flex-fuel capable new cars in three years.

McCain also said he will reward automakers with tax credits if they can sell a zero-emissions car.

“For every automaker who can sell a zero-emissions car, we will commit a $5,000 dollar tax credit for each and every customer who buys that car. For other vehicles, whatever type they may be, the lower the carbon emissions, the higher the tax credit,” he said.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)