It happened again to me last night. I was at my daughter's Lacrosse game, talking to a father of another girl on the team. I know this guy from other sports our kids participate in, and he is not stupid or uneducated, except when the conversation went to hybrids. Most people I talk to about hybrids think they have to be plugged in (I wish). Most believe they require some sort of "extra" maintenance. Most think the Prius is the only hybrid. Most don't know there are mid sized hybrids (Camry, Altima). Most don't know they are actually more powerful than there non-hybrid model (i.e. Altima 4cyl vs. Altima 4cyl hybrid).

I wonder if anyone else has noticed (and been frustrated by) this.

It gets late early out there. - Yogi

At least that is mild cluelessness--I find it much more problematic when people start spouting athoritative "facts" about how "toxic" the batteries are, how "dangerous" hybrids are to emergency responders, that hybrids owners will NEVER recoup the extra cost vs. a gas model, or that no hybrid actually gets the EPA gas mileage....

Commuter car, grocery getter, and summer road tripper--average 10k miles per year.


Winter road trips and ski trips, bad weather commuter and my wife's "daily" driver--expected average 4k miles per year.

Yep! (Read my byline below!)

It is the ignorant among us that will eventually destroy us all.

"Where ignorance is bliss, tis folly to be wise" Thomas Gray

Ducit Amour Hybridae
Mark Smith
Master Certifited Technician
Tempus non reparabilis fugit
"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it."

Best Tank 35.0 MPG

The most hybrid clueless person I've ever run across was a hybrid car salesperson. He knew nothing about hybrids, but that didn't stop him from trying to educate me about their nuances. Is it any wonder that a layperson has trouble figuring out what to believe (with the "professionals" spouting misinformation)?

There are whole subgroups (like many of the Diesel folks) who just plain have it out for hybrids. They go around spouting off all kinds of silly things with little or no basis in truth. The good thing is that as gas prices go up we get more and more people seeing it our way.

Speaking of which, has anyone else noticed the increase in the number of guests browsing greenhybrid.com. The numbers are gettng impressive --
and unfortunately the response time for postings is starting to show it at times..

It is the ignorant among us that will eventually destroy us all.

Yep, we have discussions about this from time to time.

So far, the worst have been, "How many pedals does it have?" and "Do you have trouble finding Hydrogen Stations?" Not that long after I got mine.

First 4WD Hypermiler

Have you read the FEH FAQ?

Live in Michigan? Let it be known in Michigan Roll Call

Read My Automotive Blog at Rich Rambles

I usually end up talking about the holes in the floorboards: Fred Flintstone style.

Yabba Dabba Do.

Not just Super White...Super Duper White...

Most people don't want to do the hard thinking that is needed to learn anything new. College graduates are a minority in this country. And most of those stop learning new things immediately after exams. Non-college-graduates are even more adverse to new ideas. New ideas are hard. Old ideas are easy and comfortable.

As a result, new ideas are resisted. There are a number of methods of resistance. The two most common are ignorance and hostility. The person who uses ignorance does not even want to know that the new idea exists. The person who uses hostility knows that the new idea exists, but asserts that the old ideas are somehow better, and so does not learn the new idea.

Hybrid cars include a lot of new ideas. They are so different from gas cars that people have to think to understand them. Even a pure electric car is more like a gas car than a hybrid. (A pure electric car still has just one motor, at least conceptually - it just uses electricity instead of gas.)

OK I have a good laugh for everyone. I am getting my hair done and the other hairdresser in the salon (an SUV lover, BTW), says to me "well, if you ever got into an accident, you would be electrocuted". My response: I guess that would be better than being burned alive by gasoline-haha. She adamantly does not want to believe that hybrids are safe. She is just so comfortable in her big GAS GUZZLER and oh, they are so much safer than hybrids...YEAH RIGHT!!! People are so misled. I think alot comes from the media too. Hybrids are SO MUCH more expensive too. Well, OK, let's make a comparison- large SUV $35-40K plus the $500 plus a month gas fee OR a loaded Toyota Prius around 26K with about $35 a month. HMMMMM...that is a tough one.