Ken’s Take: Both GM and Chrysler will be pushed by Team Obama to make the itsy-bitsy hybrids that “everybody wants.”
According to the WSJ: hybrids still aren’t getting any traction in the market and, now, Toyota is beefing up the Prius with more size and more power.
Hmmmm.
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Excerpted from WSJ: “Hybrids Battle for Green”, May 11, 2009
With sales of hybrid vehicles sinking, … Toyota,is rolling out a major U.S. ad push for its 2010 Prius, the third generation of the world’s top-selling hybrid vehicle.
Toyota’s new ad for its third-generation Prius shows a planet in harmony, with humanized clouds, fields and flowers bursting into song.
Some experts believe that price should be a big factor in the campaigns; hybrids typically cost thousands of dollars more than comparable gas-burning models. “They need to emphasize not only the social benefits of hybrids but also the economics … one of the big hang-ups with these cars is that they cost more.”
The allure of hybrids has waned with the decline in oil prices. Prius sales have fallen about 50% from Jan. 1 to April 30. F or all their earth-friendly cachet, hybrid cars represent only 2% of the light-vehicle market.
“It’s stunning … despite all the successes of the Prius and the emphasis on global warming, we can’t get significant hybrid penetration.”
“The big barrier for mass consumers is they worried that the Prius was underpowered and small … the newly remodeled Prius is slightly bigger, with more horsepower.
The initial Prius advertising largely targeted the early adopter and the tree-hugging crowd, while the second generation of the vehicle was seen as the family’s second or commuter car. This campaign is about the “mainstreaming of the product.”
Full article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124199018707904593.html
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May 12, 2009 at 11:05 am |
Why the pejorative “itsy-bitsy?” Take a look at the list of hybrids on the market–full of SUVs. I drive a Camry hybrid–it’s the same size and slightly more powered than the gas model, since the electric motor adds 45 horsepower. And I get 40 mpg.
The media (and bloggers) seems to focus Hybrid technology as being about forcing people into small cars, but the real benefit is for larger cars.
Take a car that gets 20 mpg and boost it to 30 mpg. That’s a 50% increase in fuel economy. Take an SUV that gets 10 mpg and boost it to 15 mpg. Also 50%. So are these gains equivalent? Not by a long shot.
Driven 10,000 miles per year, the improved first car consumes 333 gallons of gas, down from 500, for a savings of 166 gallons. The SUV consumes 666 gallons, down from 1,000, a savings of 333 gallons.
Real progress on weaning the country from foreign oil (and the accompanying issues of national security and economic growth) will be made from pushing BIG hybrids.
May 12, 2009 at 2:30 pm |
The Obama administration is simply forcing radical innovation on GM and Chrysler through a “launch and mandate” strategy.
Mark – 40 mpg? Really? The EPA highway estimate is only 34mpg (vs. a 31mpg highway for the normal drivetrain) and the EPA numbers are hard to achieve in the real world – esp when you consider the energy diluting affect of ethanol used as an oxygenate.
May 12, 2009 at 3:26 pm |
Yes, 40 mpg on my first two tanks–and it’s supposed to get better when broken in.
While the hybrid drivetrain helps, I think the real boost comes from the instant gas mileage gauge. It’s as prominent as a typical tachometer, so I can see (and react to) my fuel economy at all times. It has really shown me where I waste gas by accelerating up to red lights and such. Even cruising down the highway, I can get 10 mpg better just by easing up on the gas a hair so the car downshifts–and not seeming to lose speed.
More than pushing hybrids, the government should simply mandate the fuel economy gauge as standard equipment. I bet you’d see a 10% or more boost in fuel economy without changing anything else on the cars. Better yet, put a picture of bin Laden on the gauge–show him looking gleefully up to Allah each time you step on the pedal and dejected when you step lightly. ;)