McCain Calls for $300 Million Prize for Car Battery

FRESNO, California (Reuters) – Republican John McCainsaid on Monday if elected president he would challenge American expertsto develop a futuristic battery to power cars and win a $300 millionprize.

McCain, a week after taking heat from Democrats for reversing hisstance on offshore oil drilling after long opposing it, sought toportray himself as a forward-looking leader on solving America’s energycrisis.

With Americans reeling from record-high $4-a-gallon gasoline duringthe prime summer driving season, both McCain and his Democraticopponent in the November election, Barack Obama, are pressing their proposals for tackling energy problems that are dragging down the U.S. economy.

McCain noted that Brazil has largely weaned itself from oil importsby converting most new cars to flex-fuel capacity that usealcohol-based fuels. Brazil went from 5 percent to 70 percent offlex-fuel new cars in three years, he said.

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

The Arizona senator, 71, who would be the oldest person elected to afirst presidential term, finds himself behind Obama in polls but not bya wide margin.

But in a worry for him, a USA Today/Gallup poll published on Mondaysaid voters are most concerned about energy and the economy and theyprefer Obama by a double-digit margin on each.

McCain said he would issue a Clean Car Challenge to U.S. automakers.

"For every automaker who can sell a zero-emissions car, we willcommit a $5,000 dollar tax credit for each and every customer who buysthat car. For other vehicles, whatever type they may be, the lower thecarbon emissions, the higher the tax credit," he said.

And he offered a big reward for whoever comes up with atechnological breakthrough: "A $300 million prize for the developmentof a battery package that has the size, capacity, cost and power toleapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars."

McCain, who has taken steps to distance himself from unpopularPresident George W. Bush, also seemed to take a dim view of efforts byBush and others to persuade OPEC nations to lower the price of crude.

"Some in Washington seem to think that we can still persuade OPEC tolower prices — as if reason or cajolery had never been tried before.Others have even suggested suing OPEC — as if we can litigate our wayto energy security," he said.

The Obama campaign held a conference call with reporters to respond to McCain’s energy speech and reacted with skepticism.

Obama economic adviser Jason Furman said over his long career in theU.S. Congress McCain "had the chance to make a difference for energysecurity and America’s families."

"And he consistently not only didn’t make a different but has stoodin the way of the people like Senator Obama who have been trying toimprove our energy security," Furman said.

(Additional reporting by Deborah Charles and Jeff Mason; Editing by David Wiessler)

(To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online at blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)