Roland's polls about hybrid vehicle sales

The Commodore 64 didn't tempt many consumers - personal computers were still too much of an emerging technology

Yesterday I came across a poll a by Cargurus.com of 500 visitors to their automotive site which suggested that most consumers were still not interested in hybrid cars. As I read through the press release I noticed quotes from Tesla board members - also Cargurus.com board members - explaining that hybrids make little sense. Rather, a Tesla board member claimed, electric cars were a far better option. No conflict of interest there!

Please. I would love an electric vehicle. If I could afford Tesla's $100,000 Roadster, I would buy it today. Yet, the Roadster still has yet to hit the road for any consumers. And it costs $100,000!

Nonetheless, Roland Jones of MSNBC took this highly objective poll to claim that maybe hybrid vehicle sales have no future, a common thread in much of Roland's hybrid writing.

Yet, if Toyota offers the third generation Prius at the same costs as today's Prius, but with a significant increase in fuel efficiency, then nothing will stop the hybrid revolution - and that is less than 2 years away. Until then, hybrids still are an emerging technology, and anybody whom studies the sales patterns of emerging technologies wouldn't find any surprise in a poll that shows a majority of consumers are still "iffy" about buying a hybrid vehicle.