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The Hybrid Hoax (They're not as fuel-efficient as you think)
The Weekly Standard ^ | January 20, 2006 | Richard Burr

Posted on 01/20/2006 10:58:08 AM PST by RWR8189

Detroit
WHEN TREASURY SECRETARY John Snow announced guidelines for a new tax cut for the rich here last week, liberals did not denounce him. That's because the proposed tax breaks were for gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles, the favorite ride of environmentalists this side of bicycles. But the dirty secret about hybrids is that, even as the government continues to fuel their growth with tax subsidies, they don't deliver the gas savings they promise.

Most cars and trucks don't achieve the gas mileage they advertise, according to Consumer Reports. But hybrids do a far worse job than conventional vehicles in meeting their Environmental Protection Agency fuel economy ratings, especially in city driving.

Hybrids, which typically claim to get 32 to 60 miles per gallon, ended up delivering an average of 19 miles per gallon less than their EPA ratings under real-world driving conditions (which reflect more stop-and-go traffic and Americans' penchant for heavy accelerating) according to a Consumer Reports investigation in October 2005.

For example, a 2004 Toyota Prius got 35 miles per gallon in city driving, off 42 percent from its EPA rating of 60 mpg. The 2003 Honda Civic averaged 26 mpg, off 46 percent from its advertised 48 mpg. And the Ford Escape small sport utility vehicle managed 22 mpg, falling 33 percent short of its 33 mpg rating.

"City traffic is supposed to be the hybrids' strong suit, but their shortfall amounted to a 40 percent deficit on average," Consumer Reports said.

The hybrid failed another real world test in 2004 when a USA Today reporter compared a Toyota Prius hybrid with a Volkswagen Jetta diesel, driving both between his home in Ann Arbor, Michigan and the Washington, D.C. area. Both should have made the 500-mile trip on one tank of gas.

"Jetta lived up to its one-tank billing," reporter David Kiley wrote. "Prius did not."

Kiley had to stop to refill the Prius, which ended up averaging 38 miles per gallon, compared with 44 miles per gallon for the Jetta (which met its fuel economy rating). And this occurred during spring weather without the extra drain on a hybrid battery caused by winter weather--which would have favored the diesel Jetta even more.

Customers complain about the failure to meet fuel savings expectations. There are web sites such as hybridbuzz.com and chat rooms of hybrid fanatics who bemoan their lackluster fuel economy. About 58 percent of hybrid drivers say they aren't happy with their fuel economy (compared with 27 percent of conventional vehicle drivers), according to CNW Marketing Research in Bandon, Oregon.

It's gotten to the point where Ford is giving hybrid owners special lessons on how to improve fuel economy, according to USA Today. They teach drivers how to brake sooner, which helps recharge the battery. But they also drill owners with the same tips that help conventional vehicle owners improve gas mileage: Accelerate slowly. Inflate your tires. Plan your errands better. And this eye-opener: Don't set the air conditioner on maximum. "That prevents the electric motor from engaging," USA Today says.

HYBRIDS ARE ALSO failing to pay for themselves in gas savings. A study by the car-buying website Edmunds.com calculates gasoline would have to cost $5.60 a gallon over five years for a Ford Escape hybrid to break even with the costs of driving a non-hybrid vehicle. The break-even number was $9.60 a gallon for a Honda Civic hybrid.

Hybrid automakers and their supporters have their defenses. They quibble with how some studies are done. They point out that even with their fuel economy shortcomings, hybrids achieve the best gas mileage in three of five vehicle categories rated by Consumer Reports. Hybrids are still far lower-polluting than diesels. Their sales are growing fast, even though they make up a small 1 percent of America's annual sales of 17 million vehicles.

Then there's the ultimate defense: They are just like conventional cars because drivers buy them for many reasons other than fuel savings and cost. There's the "prestige of owning such a vehicle," says Dave Hermance, an executive engineer for environmental engineering at Toyota, the leading seller of hybrids. After all, many vehicle purchases are emotional decisions, he says.

SO, HYBRIDS have become the environmental equivalent of driving an Escalade or Mustang. Who cares if they deliver on their promises as long as they make a social statement?

Taxpayers should. The federal government subsidizes hybrid fashion statements with tax breaks that benefit the rich. The average household income of a Civic hybrid owner ranges between $65,000 to $85,000 a year; it's more than $100,000 for the owner of an Accord. The median income of a Toyota Prius owner is $92,000; for a Highlander SUV owner $121,000; and for a luxury Lexus SUV owner it's over $200,000.

This year the government will offer tax credits for hybrid purchases ranging up to $3,400, with owners getting a dollar-for-dollar benefit on their tax forms. This beats last year's $2,000 tax deduction, which amounted up to a $700 benefit, depending on the driver's tax bracket.

JUST A FEW YEARS AGO, liberals criticized the Bush administration for allowing professionals to get tax breaks on large SUVs if they were purchased for business purposes. But evidently it's okay to subsidize under-performing hybrids.

Perhaps with more technological advances, hybrids will some day deliver on their fuel economy promise and truly be worth the extra cost. But the tax credits have become just one more welfare program for the wealthy. Let the fast-growing hybrids show that they can pay for themselves.

After all, when Snoop Dogg makes a fashion statement by buying a Chrysler 300 C with a Hemi engine, taxpayers aren't footing part of the bill.

 

Richard Burr is associate editor of the Detroit News editorial page.


TOPICS: Editorial; Government; News/Current Events; Technical
KEYWORDS: 109th; alternativefuels; automakers; burr; ecoweenies; energy; hoax; hybrid; hybrids; johnsnow; zaq
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To: atomicpossum

the epa sticker estimates of expected gas milage are based on the automotive equivalent of a global (warming) climate model, that has reliability somewhere between pukey and amc gremlin.


21 posted on 01/20/2006 11:19:07 AM PST by patton ("Hard Drive Cemetary" - forthcoming best seller)
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To: Shermy
I trust them before GM, or this writer from the "Detroit News."

If the fuel economy standards for SUV's were overstated by 40%, you would hear the liberals howl for investigations and fines.

Of course, since the Japanese did it, nobody says a word.

Just like quality. When an American car has a recall, it is major news. Even though the Japanese have almost as many recalls, the MSM does not report it the same way.

22 posted on 01/20/2006 11:19:19 AM PST by Erik Latranyi (9-11 is your Peace Dividend)
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To: RWR8189
I would buy a hybrid with a modest reduction in fuel consumption. Five to 10 mpg better is still an improvement and a step closer to energy independence. Now if everyone did the same...

Of course, if all other factors have to be the same, i.e., purchase cost, availability, safety, comfort, ease of maintenance and maintenance costs, etc.
23 posted on 01/20/2006 11:21:29 AM PST by dhs12345
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To: RWR8189
No problem. The Nantucket Wind Farm will save plenty of energy ... if we can stop Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, and other loathsome liberals from blocking it...
24 posted on 01/20/2006 11:21:39 AM PST by pabianice
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To: RWR8189

I don't want a hybrid for it's 'fuel efficiency' though, if it's a little more efficient than what I have now, that would be a bonus. I like the idea that, at most around town speeds, in most towns, the gas engine would never engage. If the car is running on electricity around town, that means that car exhaust and pollutants are not going into the air. It would keep the air in cities much cleaner. That, to me, is as much a benefit as getting a few more mpg, but I'd get that too!


25 posted on 01/20/2006 11:21:47 AM PST by SuziQ
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To: RWR8189

I had a 1986 Chevy Sprint that got 50 mpg. It wasn't the prettiest car, but you could style it a little and it would still get better gas mileage and cost 1/3 as much as a Prius.


26 posted on 01/20/2006 11:22:46 AM PST by Defiant (Dar al Salaam will exist when the entire world submits to American leadership.)
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To: RayChuang88

I hear the DOT is requring these hybrids to come with six handles already installed along the sides. That way, after you are crushed in a collision with a Camry or other big car, your hybrid simply becomes your coffin.


27 posted on 01/20/2006 11:23:27 AM PST by pabianice
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To: patton
the epa sticker estimates of expected gas milage are based on the automotive equivalent of a global (warming) climate model, that has reliability somewhere between pukey and amc gremlin.

Yeah, they could come up with a real mileage test. You set up a test track with turns, hills, stop lights, freeway, etc. Have the acceleration of the car controlled by computer to simulate the way an "average" driver hits the gas. You could even have a computer drive the car around the course as the typical driver would. You could also have an old lady mode and a kamikaze mode and rate the car on all three.

Of course, it won't happen because the numbers will plummet.

28 posted on 01/20/2006 11:25:23 AM PST by Right Wing Assault ("..this administration is planning a 'Right Wing Assault' on values and ideals.." - John Kerry)
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To: pabianice

Kind of funny you mentioned the Toyota Camry because the 2007 Camry will include a hybrid drive model (rate at total 192 bhp) that will likely arrive June 2006.


29 posted on 01/20/2006 11:28:03 AM PST by RayChuang88
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To: RWR8189

I doubt if this will please most freepers, but the obvious solution is simply to increase the federal tax on gasoline, and compensate by dropping an equivalent amount of federal tax elsewhere, the AMT being the obvious thing that needs to be scrapped.

If you simply increase the price of gas, then the market will find the best ways to save fuel. The market always does a better job than government fiddling. We saw that recently when the jump in gas prices caused a lot of people to buy smaller cars than they did last year.

But naturally politicians shrink from such an obvious course of action, because it would anger the voters. They prefer stealth taxes and taxes they can peddle as "on the rich."


30 posted on 01/20/2006 11:29:16 AM PST by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: SuziQ
It would keep the air in cities much cleaner.

But when people get home to the suburbs, the gas engine has to kick in to recharge the batteries and now the pollution ends up in the suburb where people and their kids live.

It's like pure electric cars. They claim they don't pollute. Sure they do. The power plant has to run more to generate the electricity to charge the cars, so the pollution comes out of their stack rather than the exhaust pipe. It's tough to get something for free in the car/energy game.

31 posted on 01/20/2006 11:29:40 AM PST by Right Wing Assault ("..this administration is planning a 'Right Wing Assault' on values and ideals.." - John Kerry)
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To: Carry_Okie

> These goofballs trusted the governmint to test these
> vehicles objectively.

The EPA dyno tests are like any benchmark - bent builders
will tune products to game the test. At least in the PC
industry, it's a running battle, with the test suites
evolving to keep the gadget makers on their toes.

The problems with the EPA tests are:
a. it's the gummint, slow and dim-witted
b. too much political pressure on test design
c. EPA's prime directive is the preservation of the EPA

> Were there no CAFE laws ...

There probably wouldn't be any SUVs, which are largely
a creature of those laws.

> ... people would rely upon Consumers' Union and
> their competitors instead.

It must really pain CU to admit that the VW TDIs
are credible hi-mpg cars. CU hates diesel.


32 posted on 01/20/2006 11:30:42 AM PST by Boundless (Jetta TDI owner)
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To: Onelifetogive

I have a 2005 4-cylinder 5-speed Honda Accord EX that consistently gets 33 mpg on a pure 50 mile highway run to/from work every day..... I looked at the hybrid, but 2 mpg "quoted" better MPG wasn't enough to sway me for the extra cost.


33 posted on 01/20/2006 11:31:54 AM PST by Gaffer
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To: RWR8189

I still wonder what the big deal is with hybrids. Smart shoppers can find fuel efficiency tests on gas-only vehicles, and can do quite well without limiting themselves to the hybrid models available. I drove from Milwaukee to Chicago last weekend, and the display on my Saab 9-3 showed around 36 or 37 MPG average. And the car is awesome on the open road, whereas my friend's Prius leaves quite a bit to be desired.


34 posted on 01/20/2006 11:33:54 AM PST by July 4th (A vacant lot cancelled out my vote for Bush.)
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To: RWR8189

With the gas prices on their way up AGAIN courtesy of the gluttonous oil companies, we get the news that hybrids don't work. Phooey!


35 posted on 01/20/2006 11:40:20 AM PST by lilylangtree
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To: crz

Just returned from a 2,800 mile trip from TX to AZ and closely monitored MPG on my 1998 Toyota Avalon. At a constant 80 MPH on flat roads (TX Panhandle and west TX) with loaded car and air conditioning going I got 29 MPG. Over mountain and hilly terrain I got 26.6 MPG. In the city I get 24 to 25 MPG. Very happy with this performance on a 5-seater luxury car. The elitist greenies pushing hybrids can suck my exhaust - while they consider their battery replacement at seven years.


1998 Avalon info:
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/overview.aspx?modelid=2822&src=vip


36 posted on 01/20/2006 11:41:55 AM PST by enviros_kill
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To: RWR8189

Good lord, how heavy were their feet?

I have family and friends who own Priuses, hybrid Civics, and hybrid Escapes. The Priuses and Civics don't meet their EPA tests, but they all get 43-48 MPG in town. The hybrid Escape owners all do get right about their EPA tests in town - within 2 mpg.

That doesn't mean that economically they're money savers - but they certainly save fuel.


37 posted on 01/20/2006 11:45:42 AM PST by eraser2005
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To: RWR8189

The Diesel 2005 E320 CDI Mercedes gets around 30mpg. And one of the safest cars on the road.


38 posted on 01/20/2006 11:47:09 AM PST by Hoboto (I blame Hippies.)
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To: RWR8189

I am reluctantly beginning to believe that the hybrid auto is just a marketing scam. Diesel powered vehicles are a better way to go. Notice that Europe is filled with diesels (including Honda diesels) while in the US gas engined vehicles are pushed. Just a thought from an interested observer.


39 posted on 01/20/2006 11:48:14 AM PST by Citizen Tom Paine (An old sailor sends)
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Comment #40 Removed by Moderator


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