Hybrid Cars Must Offer More Than Just Image
After the first wave of hybrid vehicles form Honda and Toyota washed over the American public, that class of car was seen mostly as an option for those who were extremely eco-minded only. The price premium and limited availability of the cars meant that they still weren’t a practical option for most buyers.
(Click through the jump to read on about the hybrid question.)
These days that notion of the hybrid car is becoming rapidly outdated, and the vehicles must necessarily compete with conventional rides on all levels. Price, economy, style, and performance are all factors with today’s hybrid, meaning that just as with every other choice on the market, some will fail while others succeed.
Until now, Toyota’s Prius and Camry hybrid, as well as Ford’s Escape/Mariner hybrids have all seen an increase in sales. Meanwhile more expensive offerings such as those from Lexus and Honda’s Accord (now discontinued in hybrid trim) have languished on dealer lots.
Some have speculated that the success of Toyota’s Prius is due in large part to its easily identifiable nature, and the fact that most buyers enjoy the image associated with a “green
Comments
Ducati Minor
Interesting op-ed.
Dean
People that buy hybrids and think they are "green" are smoking rope.
There's nothing green about them.
Consider the long view:
Look up Dust to Dust on google.
Clean diesels, more public transportation, and innovative engines like VW's 40 mpg TSI gas engine are the future. Hybrids, once the batteries are better and there here is no environmental damage, might help.
A little.
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Ducati Minor
"Clean diesels, more public transportation, and innovative engines like VW’s 40 mpg TSI gas engine are the future."
Don't "clean diesels" still emit nitrogen compounds that contribute to smog? If they were clean, wouldn't most of them be compliant with CARB emissions standards? I don't know if an engine that still runs on fossil fuel can be called "the future."
Fastboss
a hybrid is nothing more than a tiny motor hooked up to a electric motor, it stills makes smog, but less of it
dante
Clean diesels have urea injection and converters for the NOx and traps for the particulates. I believe either M-B or VW has a car with this system that passes CA standards. I'm sure more are to come as people wake up to the better alternative.
Trinks
Question: Does any manufacturer have plans to build a turbo-diesel hybrid for the U.S.? That would seem the logical next step to me.
Tony D
The only hybrid that's of interest to me is the CR-Z from Honda. Efficient AND fun to drive. One without the other is no good.
Ducati Minor
"I believe either M-B or VW has a car with this system that passes CA standards. I’m sure more are to come as people wake up to the better alternative"
Mercedes is the first automaker to have a fifty-state diesel with the Bluetec line. I have seen Jetta TDIs trekking through the interstates here. (They may have been the same white one.) I haven't seen a Bluetec/CDI Benz on the road yet.
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