PROMISES, PROMISES: Plug-in cars goal hard to hit

President Barack Obama’s campaign pledge to put 1 million plug-in hybrid cars on the road by 2015 is fraught with difficulties, from technical and engineering hurdles to the realities of the economy and the price of gasoline.

Obama’s goal could help revitalize the struggling U.S. auto industry and begin shifting motorists away from the gas pump. But to many, it’s overly optimistic.

“The economics won’t make sense for the majority of Americans in the next several years,” said Brett Smith, who studies plug-in hybrids at the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Center for Automotive Research.

AP