The Golden State is very close to running out of stickers that allow plug-in hybrid vehicle drivers to take up precious HOV lane space all on their own, according to Green Car Reports. To add insult to injury, the funds for California's rebates for plug-in vehicle purchases ($2,500 for battery-electric vehicles, $1,500 for plug-in hybrids) may have also dried up.
There's a bit of a traffic jam building for those High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) stickers designed to help plug-in hybrid vehicle drivers in California avoid, uh, traffic jams. The stickers in question are of the green variety and they're doled out by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to let such drivers cruise down the HOV lanes solo. And they're running out. Fast.
BMW buyers tend to have enough cash on hand to be buffered from the concept of "sticker shock," but the term may take on a different meaning when it comes to the German automaker's i3 plug-in vehicle and its classification by California clean-air regulators.
Californians aren't exactly standing in line for those green stickers that let plug-in hybrid vehicle drivers get solo-driving access to the state's diamond lanes. So, what else is new?
