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Originally Posted by copyboy1
There was never a mention of having to radically alter your driving style. There was never a mention of local topography and weather significantly hurting your MPG. There was almost never a mention of the AC/defrost hurting your MPG. The only quotes I've ever read were of people 100% happy with their purchase. So if you want to read more articles about how great hybrids are, there are plenty of them out there. Personally, I LIKE the fact that someone actually wrote about the other side of the coin - about how hybrids don't always live up to their hype, and how some people are disappointed. I think it's a good thing to print more realistic expectations.
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You make some good points. It "does" take a modified driving style to achieve higher MPG numbers - but that is NOT A BAD THING !! I cannot count the times since I got my Hybrid where I see a car ZOOM past me in city traffic, only to be (you guessed it) STOPPED RIGHT BESIDE ME at the next red light !! People in this country are in a bad habit of "hurry hurry hurry" and "zoom zoom zoom" from stoplight to stoplight. That's just silly, and wasteful to boot. The fact that Hybrid drivers who are shooting for high mileage have SLOWED DOWN is a BOON to us all !! I have NO WORRIES about EVER getting a speeding ticket again !! That alone makes my life safer and my budget shinier.
Topography and cold weather hurts ALL cars. Hard rubber, wet roads, engines taking longer to warm up, there are dozens of posts on this board that explain how and why ANY CAR is harmed in the MPG arena when the weather is cold.
Any car also, not just Hybrids, which uses the A/C to defrost is getting it's MPG harmed. That's again not a Hybrid phenomenon.
The problem with the mainstream media is this: almost EVERY SINGLE ARTICLE contains either a stretched truth, an untruth, or just a flat out misconception about Hybrids and/or how they perform. I certainly concur that there are not enough articles talking to the Hybrid drivers who have taken the steps to learn how to maximize the capability of the Hybrid technology. "Shiny Happy People" do not make for good news stories - just the complainers !!
I'd like to see Wayne get in touch with EVERY SINGLE driver who has ever been quoted as not being pleased with the Hybrid performance and let him give them a Hypermiler class. They would be silenced !!
Even on this board, there are people who have talked about not being pleased with their car's MPG performance. Drivers usually learn over time how to "read" their car and use the capability to help them save gas money. MY first tank seven months ago was 38 MPG, and my current tank is 52.6 - you LEARN !!