September 1st, 2006
No Wonder Many People are Disappointed with Hybrids
By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews
I purchased a Prius earlier in the year, and I went in with my eyes wide open. I knew it would cost more than say, a Corolla (which I already had), get probably 15 mpg more than the 30 mpg I was getting, and get me in the car pool lane 
. I also knew about the tax rebate I would get at the end of the year (even though when I checked the Feds still hadn’t figured out how they were going to do it). Personally, I’m very satisfied.
Apparently, according to J.D. Power and Associates, many buyers or potential buyers go in knowing nothing about hybrids … which could lead to a lot of dissatisfaction.
The company surveyed prospective buyers who said that hybrids will cost more than $5,200 above comparable vehicles (about 50% above reality) while they expect hybrids to get 28 more miles per gallon than conventional vehicles. Come on people, where do you get your information, or are you too busy voting repeatedly for your American Idol? J.D. Power should have asked the question a second time after explaining reality. Source: Autopia
We Say: The good thing is buyers expect the hybrids to cost more than they do (although, I’m not sure $2,600 is right based on my experience. That’s not taking into account that you can, for example, bargain for a good, below MSRP price for a Corolla, but you pay MSRP or more for a Prius). But 28 mpg more than conventional vehicles? Some only get a few mpg over the same model in conventional form (Honda Accord Hybrid, for example). Come on!
MissingFrame says:
Maybe it’s because so many think “conventional vehicle” = Humvee
September 1st, 2006 at 9:07 am
Skul says:
Don’t forget, you get to “re-fill” the battery compartment in a few years. They do suffer loss over time and you will NOT be able to buy them at Walmart, K-Mart, or RadioShack.
September 1st, 2006 at 10:10 am
Thorndike says:
I get 50+ mpg with my Honda civic hybrid.
People forget that the benefits go beyond strict mpg. There is the knowledge that you are driving a VLEV (Very Low Emissions Vehicle). That goes a long way in my wife’s book.
September 1st, 2006 at 11:12 am
Another Mike says:
I think that in general people just don’t like thinking… too bad for them. For example look at the Accord Hybrid. Sure you get a little more in gas mileage. But that’s not what that system is about.
It’s a performance hybrid. Meaning the electric engine that helps is mostly there to help provide a faster vehicle. So go faster, use less fuel or go slower and use much lower fuel. It’s your choice but everybody really should think about what they are getting themselves into when they make a big purchase.
September 1st, 2006 at 12:20 pm
allen says:
And while I still wonder why people are so excited over paying 5000 dollars for what amounts to a little chrome badge saying “I’m an expensive hybrid that’ll never pay for the extra cost through fuel savings” I will be able to laugh quite easily when the new hyrdaulic hybrid trucks come online. Imagine, a Prius sitting next to a UPS truck that gets better gas milage and has lower costs associate with ownership!
Personally, I’ll be happy when small diesels catch on here in the states. VW’s get some great milage out of that old technology.
September 1st, 2006 at 6:28 pm
Will Wagner says:
The only flaw I see in hybrids is right now they are alternatives for foggy reasons. Saving money on gas is cool, but at a greater cost? People now buy SUVs that suck gas because they want them. They can haul things, carry large numbers of family members, and carry groceries easily with kids and family gear. Moral of the story is that the car manufacturers have to make the hybrids a #1 choice because of features, styling or price. Until that time, they will not be mainstream no matter what the environmental wackos want. Make better cars and they sell, regardless of the mode of combustion or lack of. Why save gas anyway, what are we saving it for when we no longer need it when all these electric cars rule the roads?
September 2nd, 2006 at 10:01 am
Lockergnome's Tech News Watch says:
No Wonder Many People Are Disappointed With Hybrids
Michael Santo of RealTechNews writes: I purchased a Prius earlier in the year, and I went in with my eyes wide open. I knew it would cost more than say, a Corolla (which I already had), get probably 15 mpg more than the 30 mpg I was getting, and get me…
September 6th, 2006 at 11:15 am
Mike C. says:
I love my Prius. It has a lot going for it besides its fuel efficiency. It’s larger & more comfortable than my old Corolla and has more leg room and trunk space. It also has a very comfortable, quiet ride which I like. I also like the smart key system and starting it with the power button rather than a key. With the backup camera I don’t have to worry about pets & toddlers behind the car when I back up.
I like to watch the energy usage when I drive & try to maximize it by turning off the AC & coasting whenever possible. I often get it up to 70MPG on the streets.
September 6th, 2006 at 12:25 pm
Matthew Brock says:
The problem with hybrids and most alternative fuel or green technology for anything is that you have to be committed to the idea of it rather than the saving money aspect of it. And… that is why more people aren’t buying hybrid or electric cars, using solar energy, etc.
Very few problems are solved by doing only one thing, and this is no exception. If we are EVER going to free ourselves from dependence on oil, we have to work on alternative energy technologies and they have to be subsidized to the point where it is cheaper than using conventional technology. If it costs the same, most people will stick with what is tried and true. It has to cost measurably less than conventional means in order to attract buyers. Or, if the price ends up at least the same, it can be mandated.
Our current method of talking about needing alternative methods and then letting those methods cost significantly more than what we currently use is going to make the progress very slow.
We also have to be careful of energy displacement technology. This is where a energy saving technology is used that simply shifts where the oil is used, i.e. plug in electric cars which use no oil, but if they become popular create a much greater load on electric plants that then burn more oil. It may save some oil, but not as much as proponents would have you believe.
And, no… I am not an environmentalist whacko. I am a conservative Reagan Republican that happens to like the Earth I live on!
September 7th, 2006 at 12:17 am
Alex H says:
Back in the mid-1970s there was a mechanic in Santa Monica, CA who was converting cars to 90% electric. He had a small gasoline engine, similar to a lawn mower motor which kept a battery charged and the battery ran a large electric motor. He got over 200 miles per gallon and freeway speeds from the car. This was on one of the local TV stations and it wasn’t long afterward that no one could find the garage to get the conversion done. That is the simplest type of hybrid and doesn’t require shifting back and forth between gasoline and electric. Why the auto manufacturers refuse to use a similar system is beyond comprehension. We have the technology to insure the life and functioning of the electric motor. But then, it doesn’t have much to do with the oil companies and, face it, there has been collusion between the auto manufacturers and oil companies since Henry Ford began selling his first cars off the assembly line.
September 7th, 2006 at 8:21 am
Ben Oddo says:
The problem with Hybrids is the problem with automobile marketing in general. Carmakers advertise their cars to appeal to the impulsive nature of people. Look at a car ad and you won’t find any userful information about the car. (BTW, I don’t consider images of SUV’s & pickups kicking up dust on dirt roads or fording streams as useful info since 95% of SUVs & pickups sold never leave the asphalt.) The only exception now is with gas prices as they are, carmakers are forced advertise their inflated EPA MPG claims.
The last person carmakers want in their showrooms is a well informed buyer who knows what model and options he or she wants and how much to pay for it. Yes there are scores of websites with vehicle information and tips for negotiating with dealers. But a diligent consumer must make use of these sites in order to avoid disappointment when living with a new car, hybrid or conventional.
New cars cost “mucho dinero.” Too much in my opinion. But someone has to pay for all that advertising that is increasingly harder to avoid. Don’t think that carmakers are relying on impulse to sell their cars? Look at one of the latest Hummer TV ads with the guy standing in the supermarket checkout line feeling insecure and meager with his tofu, compared to the big guy with his side of beef. So he runs to a Hummer dealer and mortgages his future inorder to feel more like a man. GM wouldn’t produce this ad if they didn’t know it would stimulate someone’s impulse to buy a Hummer as if it were a pack of gum sitting on a shelf, in a supermarket checkout line next to the National Inquirer.
I guess what I’m trying to say here is to be well informed about your potential new vehicle before walking into a showroom, and to take all that TV advertising with a grain of salt. Know that carmakers are gearing their hybrids to perform as their V8 powered models, with only a slight fuel savings. So before you plunk down a large wad of cash or go in debt up to your eyeballs thinking that that new Lexus SUV Hybrid will deliver 20+ MPG above a conventionally powered SUV, think again.
September 7th, 2006 at 8:24 am
Mark Hochstetler says:
Our family owns three hybrids (a 2004 Civic, 2005 Prius, 2006 Prius) and a 1995 Bonneville. We have been very pleased with all three hybrids, with the Civic (driven by a teenager on short-haul trips) averaging 45-50 MPG and the two Pruii averaging 58 MPH apiece doing mostly highway driving at 70 MPH. In addition to those very satisfying statistics for the hybrids, the Bonneville (185K miles) has increased its aveage MPG from 25 to 33 over the two years since we began to drive hybrids. How do I explain this? Driving the hybrids, with their instant feedback mechanism, has transformed the way we drive all cars, not just hybrids. It leads me to the conclusion that there is a business opportunity if someone could develop an aftermarket product for non-hybrid cars that provides similar instant feedback about the impact of a driver’s habits on their vehicle’s fuel efficiency.
We have tended to buy and drive smaller, more efficient cars over the years (with the exception of the Bonneville)–we find the hybrids to be comfortable, high-value cars, expecially the Prius. If you shop carefully you can buy them at a discount–all of our cars will pay back the “hybrid premium” within two years, with less time required for the highway cars.
Once the public realizes that hybrids are not exotic vehicles, can save significant amounts of money and perform a patriotic duty by lessening our dependence on Mideastern oil and the current warping of our foreign policy, I believe they will embrace this approach as a legitimate bridging technology to a more permanent solution to our dismaying dependence
on fossil fuels.
September 7th, 2006 at 5:55 pm
martinelli says:
Trying to figure out what you guys are whining about. So, it doesn’t pay off until about 5 years of ownership? I tend to keep cars for eight. Gets as good fuel mileage as you’re willing to keep your foot out of it, 47-48 mpg is doing ok with a good womping accelleration on highway onramps when you need it. Haven’t been disappointed so far.
September 10th, 2006 at 2:23 pm