Pros of Hybrids
The consumer is the underlying drive behind the hybrid research. Without the consumers, there would be no reason to further pursue advancements in this technology. Recent studies done by groups such as J.D. Power and Associates finds that there are trends among the people who buy hybrid vehicles (Profile). According to J.D. Power and Associates, the people who buy hybrids have a higher income. In 2004, J.D. Power found that the typical hybrid owner makes $100,000 a year whereas the average car buyer makes around $85,000. In 2007, a survey was conducted by Topline Strategy Group where 71 percent of people were found to have incomes greater than $100,000 (Profile). Also in 2007, Scarborogh Research found that out of 1,000 hybrid owners, 42 percent had an income larger than $100,000. J.D. Power’s study in 2007 found that the buyers are slightly older as well. They found that “only 2 percent of hybrid owners are 24 or younger; while 29 percent are between 45 and 54; and 33 percent are 55 and older. The 2007 Scarborough Research pegged the number of age 50+ hybrid drivers at 23 percent.” (Profile) The other bit of information concerning hybrid car buyers is that California residents buy more hybrids than any other state due to their strict pollution laws (Profile). Walter McManus, of the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute, believes that the hybrid car buyer’s have a higher education and better awareness than many of the other drivers. The Scarborogh Research survey in 2007 found a few other things among the hybrid adult car buyers (Profile). They are twice as likely to go skiing or hiking and participate in other such sports. They also consume more organic food and beverages than the general public. They also found that fourteen percent of the people are Republics, thirty eight percent Democrat and thirty four percent were independent (Profile). The buyer may not know it, but they have been destined to buy a hybrid for years!
The real questions are about to be answered. Hybrids, are they worth it, or are they just an elaborate hoax to make money? Beginning with the pros of hybrids, it will give an insight to the reasons why one may buy a hybrid.
There would probably be a few main questions that a customer would have when entering a dealership looking into buying a hybrid. Questions such as, what do they cost, what are the maintenance costs, do they save you money and why or why not, should I wait to buy a hybrid, and can I get the same features as in their counterparts? All of these questions shall be answered in some shape or form.
There are quite a few positive reasons why one should buy a hybrid. First and foremost, as well as probably the most obvious, as one might expect, is the fact that hybrids are designed to stretch every drop of gasoline as far as possible. Each type of hybrid that was explained earlier has different statistics for the fuel mileage. The hydrogen car has been known to see 100 miles per gallon of hydrogen and electric cars have ranges of a few hundred yards (Yost). Being that the hybrid is the only one that is available on the market for consumer purchase, it would make sense to examine this one more closely. On average, most hybrids achieve anywhere from three to fifteen miles per gallon more than the gasoline counterpart (Yost). No matter what way you look at it, the hybrid saves you money in gasoline savings in a year. For instance, the Honda Civic Hybrid receives nine miles per gallon better than its gasoline counterpart. The Toyota Prius gets 15 miles per gallon better than the Toyota Corolla LE, and finally as a last example, the Toyota Highlander Hybrid receives a mere three miles per gallon better than its gasoline counterpart (Dollars). In this case, part of the money you would like to save is entirely dependent upon what vehicle you have. There are other positives to a hybrid however.
A concern for some people may be the extra features or lack thereof in some minds. There is no reason why people cannot get the same features on a hybrid as they are able to on a gasoline version. There are many features to choose from, such as navigation, all weather floor mats, summer wheels (even though that would somewhat ruin the purpose of the lighter weight wheels on hybrids), and many others (Zapping). There are also many myths about waiting to buy a hybrid. Some of these include: waiting for huge advancements in gas mileage improvements, waiting for a hydrogen or electric car to come out, and hybrids are unstable and unreliable. Each of these is false in its own way, and each will be handled individually.
If a person is waiting for huge leaps and bounds in gas mileage improvements, they may be waiting for a while (Zapping). The technology surrounding hybrids is pretty stable. By maximizing the efficiency by smoothing out the different workloads during a driving cycle and by avoiding using excess fuel when it isn’t needed, the gas mileage increases. However, with so many safety features and additional comforts, these add up to weight. That weight is a major downfall for a hybrid. The only other way to improve gas mileage is to either change driving styles to a more cautious and laid back one or by changing the design, weight, or engine specifications in order to achieve better mileage (Zapping).
Another myth that should be laid to rest is that a person should not expect all of the rumors regarding hydrogen and electric cars to live up to the hype. While these two different technologies have made massive leaps and bounds within the last few years, there is still a lot of testing regarding their reliability, efficiency, and their costs. The projected release of such a car to the mass public is not for another few years (Availability).
The myth regarding hybrids being unstable is a just that, a myth. Hybrids have been around since 1997 in Japan, and the year 2000 in the United States (Zapping). There has been countless hours of real world testing not to mention all of the testing done before the release. If the person is wary of buying a hybrid due to a fear of unreliability, breathe easy. Most hybrids come with an eight to ten year warranty on the electronic system(Zapping). Car companies put such a guarantee on their cars to allow their customers to breathe a sigh of relief.