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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: RWR8189

Expensive...and pretty much worthless on the highway.


41 posted on 01/20/2006 11:49:34 AM PST by shield (The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instructions.Pr 1:7)
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To: RWR8189

The 2003 Honda Civic averaged 26 mpg.

My wife's ordinary E-class Mercedes gets better than that, every tank!

So does a Corvette, on the highway.


42 posted on 01/20/2006 11:49:49 AM PST by Atlas Sneezed (Your FRiendly FReeper Patent Attorney)
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To: Boundless
CU hates diesel.

Which is hilarious, because diesel is the way to go for a constant torque operation like a hybrid.

43 posted on 01/20/2006 11:51:55 AM PST by Carry_Okie (There are people in power who are truly evil.)
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To: dhs12345
energy independence

That’s an old phrase that came out of the Jimmy Carter days when he pissed off the Arabs. If everyone saved 10mpg it would only drive down demand, lowering the price that the Chinese have to pay for their oil, allowing them to buy more. Saving 10mpg does little to help America.

A better strategy for the US is to drive the world wide price of oil up then get some kind of kickback from the suppliers, which would crimp the growing Chinese economy. Another option is invest in biotechnology that converts our massive coal deposits into oil.

If we were totally energy independent from OPEC, don’t think you’d get oil products any cheaper than the world price. Domestic suppliers divert their oil to the highest bidder, so you’d soon pay the same.

44 posted on 01/20/2006 11:53:09 AM PST by Reeses
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To: RWR8189
"Americans' penchant for heavy accelerating"

This guy has obviously never driven on the German autobahn.

45 posted on 01/20/2006 11:53:15 AM PST by joebuck
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To: SuziQ
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.


Actually, ALL the energy used to move a hybrid comes from burning fuel while driving. The supposed advantage is that you can have a smaller gasoline engine that runs at moderate power all the time at efficient levels, with the electric helping during acceleration, and the gas engine charging the batteries other times.
46 posted on 01/20/2006 11:54:10 AM PST by Atlas Sneezed (Your FRiendly FReeper Patent Attorney)
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To: Citizen Tom Paine

I like diesel power, too. I wish that they were available with more different vehicles.

Who has diesel engines now in passenger cars?

Benz, VW - (Both Germans... interesting...)

any others?


47 posted on 01/20/2006 11:55:09 AM PST by Rio (Don't make me come over there....)
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To: dirtboy

I had an '89 Honda Civic Hatchback SI model. It would get about 31 around town and would actually get over 50 MPG if you kept it between 55 and 60 MPH. Otherwise, my normal highway driving of 75 MPH yielded about 46 MPG. It was also quick and handled well.


48 posted on 01/20/2006 11:59:48 AM PST by trebb ("I am the way... no one comes to the Father, but by me..." - Jesus in John 14:6 (RSV))
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To: Carry_Okie

>> CU hates diesel.

> Which is hilarious, because diesel is the way to go
> for a constant torque operation like a hybrid.

Hey, yer talkin' actual results.
CU, like all liberal nests, is primarily into symbolism.

Also, they may have some trouble actually testing TDIs,
because they are presently illegal in most blue states,
probably including within 200 miles of CU's home office.


49 posted on 01/20/2006 12:00:34 PM PST by Boundless
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To: RWR8189

Unlike everyone else on this thread, I actually have a Prius, and this is my second Prius--gave mom the old one when the new model came out.

On the new one, I CONSISTENTLY get 50-52 mpg in summer and 49-50 in winter, this is a mix of highway and city driving.

I can only think the drivers who tested the mpg in this article were teenagers, roaring out from the start and slamming on their brakes at the last second. They are wrong.

These are great, and I mean GREAT cars.


50 posted on 01/20/2006 12:00:45 PM PST by Auntie Mame ("If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." --Grandma)
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To: trebb

Do a check around the country on cars.com on any hybrid. You will find a used glut right now.


51 posted on 01/20/2006 12:02:02 PM PST by bmwcyle (As the left takes to the streets the too many lazy Freeper sleep)
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To: Auntie Mame

How are you calculating the fuel economy?


52 posted on 01/20/2006 12:02:06 PM PST by B Knotts
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To: RWR8189
"City traffic is supposed to be the hybrids' strong suit, but their shortfall amounted to a 40 percent deficit on average," Consumer Reports said.

Wow! I feel pretty good now about my 9-year-old Saturn that averages 30 mpg.

53 posted on 01/20/2006 12:03:49 PM PST by Aquinasfan (Isaiah 22:22, Rev 3:7, Mat 16:19)
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To: SuziQ
I like the idea that, at most around town speeds, in most towns, the gas engine would never engage.

You double odds of hitting a pedestrian since they can't hear you coming. If you drive a hybrid in the city, you might never run a yellow light and be super vigilant. And buy lawsuit insurance so the ambulance chasers don't totally clean you out.

54 posted on 01/20/2006 12:04:45 PM PST by Reeses
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To: SuziQ
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!

Wow.

That is all.

55 posted on 01/20/2006 12:04:57 PM PST by Palmetto
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To: Boundless
Also, they may have some trouble actually testing TDIs, because they are presently illegal in most blue states, probably including within 200 miles of CU's home office.

Fine particulate regulations as restraint of trade.

56 posted on 01/20/2006 12:05:31 PM PST by Carry_Okie (There are people in power who are truly evil.)
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To: Beelzebubba
"The 2003 Honda Civic averaged 26 mpg..... So does a Corvette, on the highway."

Aint that sumthin!? It amazes me and 400 HP to boot! Hybrids? bah!

Im planing on picking up a C6 Vette soon and it will have better gas milaage than my 89 does!


57 posted on 01/20/2006 12:07:12 PM PST by Names Ash Housewares
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To: Obadiah
Edmunds.com, the auto shopper site, guided us to Honda's Civic and Toyota's Corolla as conventional alternatives to the hybrid Prius. This was the source of our claim that the Prius retails for $9,500 more than comparable vehicles. In its own research, Edmunds concluded a Prius owner would have to drive 66,500 miles per year or gasoline would have to jump to $10 for the purchase to pay off.

But don't take our word for it. Kazuo Okamoto, Toyota's research chief, recently told the Financial Times that, in terms of fuel efficiency, "the purchase of a hybrid car is not justified."

-H Jenkins
Wall Street Journal
December 2005

58 posted on 01/20/2006 12:08:09 PM PST by Obadiah
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To: RWR8189

Average real world fuel economy numbers for hybrids from owner reports on www.fueleconomy.gov -

2005 Ford Escape 2WD Hybrid - 31.6 mpg combined (about 33 city, 31 hwy). That's 8% below EPA estimates in city, dead on for hwy.

2005 Toyota Prius - average of 47.6 mpg combined.

2005 Honda Civic Hybrid - 44.9 mpg


59 posted on 01/20/2006 12:08:25 PM PST by eraser2005
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To: RWR8189

There are absolutely no surprises in this article.


60 posted on 01/20/2006 12:09:58 PM PST by RobRoy
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