Hybrid Vehicles - a car buff seeking automotive redemption

An Australian newspaper recently released the results of a survey suggesting that hybrid cars are more expensive to run than similarly sized conventional vehicles.

On the fact of it, this seems to run counter to one of the fundamentals of the hybrid car movement. We’re all about saving on gas aren’t we?

In explaining the results - the Royal Automobile Association suggests that the higher purchase price of a hybrid vehicle means that fuel savings aren’t recouped over a five year period.

It’s an incredibly interesting set of statistics but there are a couple of additional things worth noting:

1. Australia doesn’t currently have a system for purchase rebates like the United States (see my previous post on rebates for hybrid vehicles)

2. The example car in question (the Honda Civic hybrid) saves 930 kg of emissions every year.  This kind of ecological impact is hard to measure in dollar terms.

I know its something that I’ve been repeating consistently over the last coupl;e of days - but affordability for hybrid vehicles will come from economies of scale. Creating and fostering the demand will help to balance out some of these figures.

Anyway - check out the full article here:

Hybrid cars ‘more costly to run’ - Breaking News - National - Breaking News

technorati tags:hybrid, vehicle, automobile, car, honda, petrol, environment, cost

I want to start off my saying that I’m proud of America. I believe in its foundations, and I believe in its ability to constructively contribute to the world. It’s just that we sometimes don’t make it easy to be proud of ourselves….

Some latest data from the EPA shows that the 7 least green cars on the international market are American-made.

Topping the list? Ford’s E-Series Van - with a combined score of 0/0 for air pollution and green house gas emissions.

Some caveats:

1. The EPA monitored emissions that aren’t regulated specifically by the Federal Government.

2. Cars over 8500 pounds (larger SUVs and trucks) were excluded from the survey.

Manufacturers (including Ford) responded to the survey by indicating that the sale of these vehicles were driven by consumer demand.

It’s also interesting to note that the data is released at a time in which Congress is debating a bill that would provide a package of support aimed at cutting energy use that includes support for hybrid vehicle production. This has been opposed by American automakers because they believe that it will increase the lead of foreign-owned hybrid car manufacturers like Toyota.

What can we make of this? We need to keep up pressure on the manufacturers - but perhaps most importantly we have to create the demand in the market that will not only make hybrid cars viable - but a commercial necessity for the manufacturers.

technorati tags:hybrid, car, vehicle, autmobile, ford, congress, epa, environment