Minnesota car dealerships are stuck right in the middle.
On the one hand, they're in favor of the new emissions standards being proposed by the MPCA's Clean Cars Minnesota rule.
Dwayne Haapenen is the general manager of Kolar Chevrolet Buick GMC, and he knows people value our clean air and water. But he also says there's not a large market demand for electric vehicles up here. He says people want vehicles that will start at -30° - preferable all-wheel drive - and pull a camper/boat/snowmobile trailer.
Despite Fresh Energy's assertions that the public wouldn't have to do anything; that the action steps are geared toward manufacturers, not consumers, dealerships fall somewhere in the middle.
Haapenen says not all manufacturers even make EV and hybrid models available to dealerships in less-populated areas (like the Midwest) and he's troubled that dealerships aren't being given a seat at the table for these discussions on the state level.
