John McCormick's hybrid analysis

I love hybrid vehicle critics - they are usually so easy to ridicule. One such critic, John McCormick of the Detroit News, is nothing but a mudslinger when it comes to hybrid cars. Recently, he noted that the wrong hybrids are selling. For example, he cites rising sales of the Lexus RX400h and a 12% decline in Toyota Prius sales as evidence (more). Of course, he forgets to mention the facts that a fire hampered Prius production earlier this year and that Toyota reduced Prius production so that the Camry hybrid could be added to the Toyota lineup of hybrid cars.

Anyway, I sent these comments to the Detroit News.

Wow! Toyota Prius sales are down by 12% and now hybrids are dead? Let's forget about the fact that Toyota decreased Prius production to build the Camry hybrid - why don't we?

Hybrids are a just an emerging technology. Even if millions wanted to buy them, the industry couldn't make that many at this point in time - it just isn't technologically feasible, yet.

Let's get real Mr. McCormick, you've consistently written negatively about hybrids, and it seems you somehow believe that hybrids are the anti-Detroit.

Well, this fear of technology and change will mean the end of Detroit if Detroit doesn't change.
Like them or not, the hybrids are coming. Yes it will probably take another couple of years before the technology starts to become cheap enough and available enough for mass consumption, but it WILL happen.

Toyota has vision - something too many automotive experts in Detroit lack - and is simply laying the groundwork for where the market will be in 3 to 5 years; when technology for hybrids is significantly more powerful and cheaper.

Technology is like chess, you have to be many moves ahead if you want to win. Current hybrid production puts Toyota many moves ahead of those only thinking about today and dreaming about a fuel cell future.