Updated: April 8, 2012
All
I want for Christmas is a plug-in hybrid vehicle
Editors Note: This article was originally written in 2006, when there was a belief among many in the battery community that hybrids were passe and irrelevant. Sales scoreboard!
Lately, I've received a
number of inquiries about where to buy plug-in
hybrids. This doesn't surprise me. I want a plug-in
hybrid. Still, the technology isn't fully baked, at least
not for mass production. Consequently, you can't venture
down to your local auto dealer and buy a plug-in hybrid.
Sure, you can convert a hybrid into a plug-in hybrid, and
while I envy those whom have converted current hybrid
cars into plug-in hybrids, I'm just a little short of
cash at the moment for such a venture.
Nonetheless, what is it about plug-in hybrids that is so
appealing even to consumers not interested in current
hybrids? Sure, I totally believe in the potential of such
technology, but there is no doubt plug-in technology is
going to be expensive, at least in the short term. Thus,
if plug-in hybrids offered an end to foreign oil
dependency and a solution to transportation-caused global
warming, but no cost savings to American consumers, would
so many consumers still be so excited?
Is the excitement regarding plug-in hybrid vehicles for
many consumers focused upon doing the right thing or on
saving lots of money at the gas pump?
posted by Dahcredyns
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