The Senator also backs state efforts to regulate tailpipe emissions - much to the dismay of the Michigan audience.

[Originally published at Red, Green, and Blue] After getting a tour of the design room for the GM prototype battery-powered, Chevy Volt, Sen. John McCain laid out his plan to help the auto industry, including a $5,000 tax credit for people buying low-emission vehicles, a $300-million prize for the company that creates the first commercially available battery-powered car and job retraining programs for displaced workers.

“The eyes of the world are now on the Volt and this will be not only be about the jobs or economy of this great and beautiful state,” McCain said. But the Senator also voiced support for individual states to set tailpipe emission regulations - something that was not exactly well-received at the Warren, Michigan GM facility.

McCain called the Volt a “key, integral and vital part of our ability to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil” and said he “would support tax credits for Americans who choose to buy the Volt and other automobiles that put us on the track to energy independence.”

However, McCain will not be receiving any “Man of the Year” plaques in Michigan any time soon. The presumptive Republican Presidential nominee also told the audience of more than 500 GM workers that he would let each state determine its own fuel efficiency standards. A position that is very unpopular with American car manufacturers because they say it could spell their demise.

Faced with high gas prices and a weak economy, GM’s sales fell 16% for the first half of the year, with trucks off 21% and cars down nearly 9%. GM has lost billions of dollars during the last three years.

Other Posts on John McCain, EV Tax Credits, and the Chevy Volt:

• “McCain Proposes $300 Million Prize to Developer of Super Battery”
• Who Might Win McCain’s Battery Competition? Part I: Firefly : Gas 2.0
• “McCain Calls for More Offshore Drilling - What Else Would He Say in Houston?”
• “An Electric Vehicle You Can Buy Today: The The $20,000 TRIAC EV”
• “Chevy Volt’s Lithium-Ion Batteries Road Tested by Month’s End”

Photo Credits: 1. soggydan via flickr under a Creative Commons License; 2. General Motors

Sources: Detroit Free Press