[Vision2020] Hybrid Sales UP!

[Tbertruss at aol.com]

Donovan et. al.

You need to get out more often.  Living in Idaho has warped your views of reality.  There are areas of the US where many people are environmentally aware, and also want to save money, so they do buy smaller fuel efficient vehicles.

Sales of smaller Hybrid cars are increasing!  And the small two seater Honda Insight hybrid that I drove several years ago continues with a 2004 model!

Read below:
 
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/auto/20030507a1.asp


Is a hybrid car for you?
By Lucy Lazarony • Bankrate.com  

Hybrid car sales are heating up. 

Higher gas prices and good word-of-mouth are prompting more Americans to try hybrid cars, which combine gasoline engines with battery-powered electric motors.

Hybrid cars from Toyota and Honda have racked up record sales in early 2003.

"People are paying more for gas and they're thinking about fuel economy," says Andy Boyd, manager of public relations for Honda.

>From Jan. 1 through April 30, Honda sold 6,400 Civic hybrids; 4,700 of those sales came in February and March when gas prices topped $2 in some areas. 

January through March was a great sales quarter for the Toyota Prius with 6,106 Americans joining the ranks of Cameron Diaz and Leonardo DiCaprio as Prius owners.

"The word of mouth on hybrids is continuing to grow and sales are continuing to pick up steam," says Sam Buto, a spokesman for Toyota.

Industry experts expect hybrid sales to accelerate sharply in the next few years. 

Hybrid launch dates in North America 
Make and model Release date:
 
Honda Insight hatchback  December 1999 
Toyota Prius sedan  June 2000 
Honda Civic hybrid sedan  April 2002  
Ford Escape SUV  December 2003 
GMC Sierra pickup 2004 
Chevy Silverado pickup 2004 
Lexus RX 330 SUV  2005 
Saturn VUE SUV  2005 
Chevrolet Equinox SUV 2006 
Chevrolet Malibu sedan  2007 
Honda Accord sedan 2004 
Toyota Camry sedan 2004 
Honda Pilot SUV 2004  

Americans bought 38,000 hybrid cars in 2002, and sales are forecast to reach 54,000 in 2003, according to J.D. Power and Associates, a marketing information and research firm based in Agoura Hills, Calif.

Hybrid sales are expected to climb to 107,000 in 2004 and 211,000 in 2005. The reason? A flurry of new hybrid models, including pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles will be available. 

The first new hybrid on the block arrives later this year when Toyota launches a larger, hatchback version of the Prius sedan. 

The selection of hybrid vehicles really takes off in late 2004 with hybrid versions of the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord sedans, Lexus RX 330, Ford Escape and Honda Pilot SUVs and GMC Sierra and Chevy Silverado pickup trucks all scheduled to arrive.

"More choices will attract different kinds of buyers," says Walter McManus, an automotive analyst at J.D. Power. "The people who buy a Lexus RX 330 are not shopping the Prius. The people who buy a full-sized pickup are never going to shop a Prius."

So families that prefer an ultra fuel-efficient and eco-friendly set of wheels will have a lot more choices in the next couple of years. 

Right now, folks who want to embrace the new hybrid technology and do their part for the environment have three auto choices: a Toyota Prius sedan, a Honda Civic hybrid or a two-seater Honda Insight.

Hybrid vehicles are good for the earth because they suck up less gas and spit out less pollution. But before you dash out and buy one, be sure to consider the cost. 

Being an environmental trailblazer isn't cheap. The hybrid cars available today cost anywhere from $3,500 to $6,000 more than comparable conventional cars.

Despite ultra-impressive gas mileage, you'll have a tough time making up the price difference at the pump. And that doesn't include any additional maintenance costs and the possibility that you may have trouble reselling the vehicle. 

On the other hand, you do get a substantial tax break by purchasing a hybrid car. 

Fuel-cost comparison
Let's start by comparing the gasoline costs of driving a $20,000 Civic Hybrid with a $16,500 Civic LX. The Civic Hybrid with a manual transmission gets an impressive gas mileage of 46 miles per gallon in the city and 51 mpg on the highway. The Civic LX gets 32 mpg in the city and 38 mpg on the highway. 

We'll use city mileage figures for both cars because that's the mileage estimate most drivers are likely to achieve. Let's say gas is $1.75 per gallon and you drive 15,000 miles every year. 

Will you be able to rack up $3,500 in fuel-cost savings with your Civic Hybrid? Not unless you plan on keeping the car forever. 

Driving a Civic Hybrid instead of a Civic LX will trim your fuel costs by about $250 a year. After five years you'd save $1,250 at the pump. After 10 years, you'd save $2,500. After 15 years you'd save $3,750, finally just over your $3,500 goal. 

Let's take a closer look at the numbers. 

To drive 15,000 miles with a Civic Hybrid, you'll need to pump in about 326 gallons of gas. Pay $1.75 a gallon and your yearly fuel costs will run about $571. 

To drive 15,000 miles with a Civic LX, you'll need to pump in more than 469 gallons of gas. At $1.75 a gallon, your yearly fuel costs will run about $821, just $250 more than the Civic Hybrid. 

Of course, the more gas prices go up, the more money you'll save driving a Civic Hybrid instead of a conventional Civic. 

So let's say gas prices shoot back up to $2 a gallon. Yearly fuel expenses with a Civic LX will run about $938 compared with $652 for a Civic Hybrid. That's a savings of $286 a year. After five years of high fuel prices you'd save $1,430. But you're still a long way from recouping the extra $3,500 you paid for your environmentally friendly set of wheels. Helping the earth can be hard on your wallet.