Despite current popularity gasoline hybrids are not the only answer
Are high fuel prices causing you to consider buying a hybrid? For many consumers the answer is yes but unfortunately the auto industry has not been able to keep up with demand. The most popular hybrid maker, Toyota, can deliver enough Prius models and cites a shortage of batteries in part for the problem. Conversely domestic manufacturers have tried to retrofit existing models as hybrids but thus far have met with lackluster sales given the vehicles poor MPG rating compared to Asian and European offerings.
While I'll quickly praise those eco-friendly engineers who bought into hybrid technology before the rest I'll refrain from declaring them visionaries. Electric car technology has been around nearly as long as the internal combustion engine. Aside from the declining technology cost and continued refinement the driving force of the hybrid revolution is not the method of propulsion but the operating costs of alternative transportation. Simply put the higher gas prices go the more demand for alternatives, like hybrid drive, will increase.
It's often said in business that customers speak with their pocketbooks. That being the case it often seems that the surest way to change a customers behavior is to hit them in the pocketbook. For years the offer of 0% refinancing and cash rebates kept car buyers in large, inefficient vehicles. Skyrocketing gas prices have changed that and now consumers are looking for more miles per gallon and a lower operating cost. Carbon emissions may be important to some but by in large most consumers will ignore the Federally assessed figured until it becomes fiscally beneficial to do otherwise.
Though the hybrid sales are up, in part due to $4 per gallon gasoline, we shouldn't assume that is the only solution. Research and development continues for a host of other technologies, none of which should be seen as the panacea, and undoubtedly will become part of the overall solution. It may be easier to imagine a single technology that replaces internal combustion but that isn't a realistic expectation. At this point we should consider the prospect of specialized technological solutions which will meet the various needs and more importantly replace the specific strengths of internal combustion which have cemented it as the engine of choice for over a hundred years.
Powered by AkoComment 2.0 ( + SecureBot ) |
