Wednesday, December 13, 2006No.
Hybrid vehicles are not losing their appeal
Today, Roland Jones of
MSNBC asked the question, Are
hybrid vehicles losing their appeal?
No, Roland, they are not. Also, Roland, how can you
utilize the Honda
Accord hybrid to discuss hybrid vehicle economics?
First, the Accord hybrid isn't a hot-selling hybrid, it's
possibly the worst selling hybrid. Second, it's a
performance hybrid, and was not produced purely to achieve
fuel efficiency.
Sure, the sales of hybrid cars are down. Automobile sales overall
are down and expected to be down into 2007. Yes, hybrids
are down more, but that fact has nothing to deal with
appeal, Roland. Obviously, the fact that Toyota's hybrid
tax credits have been cut in half is a key issue since
the Prius is by far the best selling hybrid, as is the
drop in gasoline prices.
But there is also a bigger, non-hybrid issue. Why are
automobile sales down and expected to be down next year?
Are automobiles losing their appeal? Or, do consumers have
a little less financial power? If economic times are
tight, it isn't surprising fewer consumers can justify
paying more for a hybrid when the tax credit has been cut
in half and when gas prices are down.
Nonetheless, consumers are very interested in hybrid
cars, especially the hybrids of the future. Consumers
are not stupid, and they know the best of hybrid vehicles
is yet to come. Currently, the public appears to be
particularly fascinated with the idea of plug-in
hybrid vehicles. So, since consumers have less cash
and gas prices are low, many are waiting for next
generation hybrid technology.
And no, Roland, diesel is not an alternative. Diesel might
compete with hybrids today in some driving conditions, but
reliance upon diesel instead of gasoline will NEVER end
foreign oil dependency. Next generation hybrid technology,
however, certainly has the capability to end foreign oil
dependency.
posted by Dahcredyns
at 1:09
PM
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