GreenHybrid - Hybrid Cars - View Single Post

wcmack · #5 (**permalink**) 09-28-2006, 07:14 AM

In this, as in many things, I am a centrist, and can see value in both sides of this argument (so if you want a rant, stop reading HERE).

Yes, hybrids are priced with a premium, and this probably will make their market penetration slower than otherwise. But the companies that developed this technology have an investment to recoup, and wide market acceptance is not assured.

Yes, hybrids don't offer a jaw-dropping increase in MPG. The technology is evolutionary, not revolutionary. That has been the nature of progress in the auto industry worldwide since its inception. But hybrid technology is the best commercially availabe and socially viable personal transportation technology we have at the moment, IMHO.

Each of us will come to our own conclusion as to whether the price we paid/pay for, and the non-priced benefits (using less gas, emitting less pollutants in the air, being socially responsible) of, owning a hybrid add up to a win for us.

Back in the day (well into last century) I drove a Buick 442 that got 8 MPG...but gas was $0.30 a gallon, the Arab oil embargo had not occurred, terrorism from the Middle East was unheard of and no one talked about the ozone hole over Antartica. I felt good about driving then, 'cause I could beat just about any car on the road off the line (OK, maybe not the GTO).

Now, after the Clean Air Act, 9-11, the wars in Afganistan and Iraq, and $3.00/gal gas, I drive a mid-size sedan that gets 40+ MPG. My last car (an SUV) was getting 18.5 MPG longterm. Now that I switched to a hybrid, I feel good about driving again for...well, you all know the reasons.

I don't see hybrid technology as a gimmick. Would I like the same car with the capability for 100 MPG? Sure! But right now, I am embracing the best of the new technologies that is consistent with my professional and personal needs for transportation "on demand."

When something better comes along, I'll probably embrace that too. BRING IT ON!!!