Half of U.S. residents would buy hybrid car
As America continues to face roller coaster prices at the gas pumps and a constant reliance on foreign oil, will that pave the road for hybrid electric cars? It could, if a new survey is accurate.
Around 48 percent of American consumers asked said they would be extremely or very interested in buying a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), according to a new Pike Research survey.
(Credit:
Pike Research)
PHEVs promise better fuel mileage, lower carbon emissions, and less oil dependence than cars that use gasoline exclusively.
These hybrids can typically reach a distance of around 40 miles on a single charge. But that fits well within the needs of many drivers. Around 82 percent of those questioned in the "Electric Vehicle Consumer Survey" drive 40 miles or less per day, and on average travel only around 27 miles daily.
Citing the benefits of electric hybrids, 85 percent of consumers said greater fuel efficiency would be important when picking their next car. Pike estimates that the cost of electricity to charge hybrids would equal around 75 cents per gallon of gas.
Around 65 percent of respondents said they'd be willing to pay a premium price for a hybrid, on average close to 12 percent over the cost of a standard gas-powered car.
The survey found that 79 percent would buy a fast-charging electrical outlet for their homes. But many also expressed the need for charging stations at work and at public places.
Younger people and those with higher levels of education did express a somewhat greater desire for hybrids than did other groups. But overall, interest didn't differ much among age, gender, income, or education, leading Pike to believe the vehicles should appeal to the mass market.
Among those not interested in plug-in hybrids, 45 percent said they'd want to wait until the technology is more proven, while 33 percent said 40 miles on a single charge would not meet their needs.
(Credit:
Peak Research)
Following their market introduction next year, more than 600,000 PHEVs will be sold in the U.S. by 2015, forecasts Pike. A number of auto companies will soon debut hybrids that can drive a certain distance using only battery power, then switch to gas when the battery is drained.
The research firm gathered its findings from a Web-based survey of 1,041 U.S. consumers during the second quarter of 2009.
Other surveys have uncovered similar results. Last year, a JD Power survey found high consumer interest in hybrids, even with their premium price tags.
Lance Whitney wears a few different technology hats--journalist, Web developer, and software trainer. He's a contributing editor for Microsoft TechNet Magazine and writes for other computer publications and Web sites. You can follow Lance on Twitter at @lancewhit. Lance is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and he is not an employee of CNET. 
A) It comes in a body style that I can use (ie: compact pickup)
B) It is affordable to purchase with comparable monthly payments- I don't mind paying another year or two on the loan if the payments are kept low enough to make it affordable.
C) We still don't know the costs of replacement battery packs even on the Prius. Once those start failing and needing replacement, we can determine if the batteries are part of the vehicle or are leased which may make more financial sense.
However, there are technical reasons to suspect that a plug-in's battery would not last as long as a gas-hybrid (because the gas-hybrid keeps the battery charge in a fairly narrow range). On the other hand, battery technology keeps getting better, so this might not be so much of an issue..
Also, the replacement cost of the battery is about $3000, so that number IS known.
Hydrogen Fuel cells would be better since it's the same thing. Turning hydrogen into electricity.
An Economic/National Security Environmentalist.
Not only that, but people have been blinded to the fact that the manufacturing process for the batteries that go into hybrid powertrains emits far more pollution than the gas you would have burned with a normal engine. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for better gas mileage, less pollution, and even alternative fuels if they're viable, practical, and abundant, but I want to do it the right way. Environmentalist facism is NOT the right way. Necessity, not legislation, is the mother of invention. The more the government tries to force the issue, the more it's going to bankrupt our economy.
To frame this conversation in a way that the right would get it: It is a GOOD idea, over time, to lessen our use of those resources which require us to make diplomatic/military decisions which drain our economy manifold more than the net gain we would get on investing in R&D for other energy sources.
Or, we could keep on doing what we've always done: spending that money we COULD be using to DIVERSIFY our own economy into cool things that blow those evil terrorists up, chase those illegal immigrants away, or waste more of our time in airport security lines.
Words like this just make me want to cry. The idea that climate change is "a myth" is simply an attempt to bury your head in the sand and pretend that you can continue as you are because change is inconvenient. Stop being so selfish. Even if the research that climate change is very real is incorrect, what harm is there from adopting clean technologies? Certainly the harm of adopting clean technology is far outweighed by the harm that will happen if the predictions of impact of global warming are true.
I'm sorry but people like you doom everyone else. Thanks.
We would probably have to start a time of use charging system instead of straight kwh, just to make sure most people weren't charing their cars during our current peak periods.
@rrod182 - our company's sources of electricity are as follows:
Coal 44.91%
Nuclear 11.67%
Purchases 15.87%
Hydro 5.82%
Oil/Gas 21.61%
Wind 0.12%
If we could even just get diesel to be in the US like it's in Europe (cheaper than regular because its use is far more common), I'd go that way. Right now, it's kind a toss up on whether the difference in mileage between the average diesel and gasoline engine offsets the differential in fuel prices. Still, great torque in a diesel.
My understanding is that the battery is the issue. They can't provide the kind of power to the motors that a gasoline generator or a regular gasoline engine can (without being tremendously large).
I went shopping in 2004 for a new car. The Toyota looked ugly and the Honda looked like a normal car. So I now have a 2005 Civic Hybrid, average 40 MPG regardless of how or where I drive. The sticker price was $23,000. Not one to haggle about prices, I sent faxes or emails to the ten nearby dealerships inviting them to bid on selling me a car. The winner was $18,300 cash total driveaway cost.
I get to drive in the diamond lane all by myself.
I need to pay attention to the gas gauge only so that I do not forget to fill it. It is a seldom-occuring event. My first trip was from San Jose to San Diego (in California) on a single tank.
Performance is not an issue. The steepest freeway in the state is the Questa Grade just north of San Luis Obispo. Due to traffic congestion I could only get to 85 MPH. Too many high-performance cars in the way.
The Civic has been trouble-free. All I have done in 50,000 miles is change the oil, oil filter, and air filter.
On a slightly different subject: Several years ago there was a big flap about buying foreign cars and some of the United Auto Workers were complaining about foreign cars in the parking lots at American auto plants. Well, the Honda Accord that same year had the highest North American-built content of any car. Higher than my Pontiac 6000, which was made in Canada. My Ford Pinto was made in San Jose, but it was mostly German drive train.
Once I looked sideways while stopped at a traffic light. Along side was a Brazil-built German Volkswagen driven by a Hispanic person, probably from Mexico, powered by Arab gasoline, and financed by Chinese money.
Will we ever again see a car designed, built, financed, powered, and driven by fat old white male Americans? Probably not in what is left of my lifetime.
Hybrids aren't a financial decision--they're a political and environmental one. I do believe in human-influenced global warming (though the degree of effect we have may be debatable) but regardless of that, my primary reason for interest in hybrids and full-on EV's is geopolitical--I want America to reduce its dependence on foreign oil. Repressive foreign governments have way too much influence on us because of our inability to just *use less*.
Finally, hybrids and EV's are exactly the kind of manufacturing that America can compete in. Conventional cars are a commodity--an expensive one, granted, but pretty much any nation can build them, and usually for less cost than American workers require. We need to compete on new technologies that can't easily be designed and manufactured by uneducated and unskilled labor for extremely low wages. That's the only way America has ever really competed--by building what others can't build at any price. We need to innovate and work on the forefront of technology, not follow behind like everyone else--because they can usually follow cheaper than we can!
When there is the will....!
Of course there are states like France which charge more than 70 % taxes on petrol, but personally I would not complain if I had to pay the same amount on hydrogen. As for the vested interests of oil companies, it would certainly make sense should, for instance, TOTAL or BP considered merging with either AIR LIQUIDE or LINDE.
At last but not least, it is often argued that Hydrogen is not a clean energy; Again it is a devious argument. Hydrogen could be produced by clean energy like wind farms instead of being extracted from hydrocarbons as it is the case at the moment.
- by licenseandregistration September 10, 2009 9:40 AM PDT
- i have to disagree with anyone stating that buying hybrid is not a financial decision. my understanding is that it is not supposed to be cheaper and, according to the general populace, is not. however with electricity you have a fixed price as opposed to the ever fluctuating gas prices, which offers economic stability. that is much more appealing to me that the lack of emissions or the "morality" behind buying hybrid.
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