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Hybrid Redux? Not for Most Owners
Design News ^ | 04-18-2012 | Charles Murray, Senior Technical Editor, Electronics & Test

Posted on 09/25/2012 7:23:07 AM PDT by Red Badger

A new study by R.L. Polk & Co. shows that the overall percentage of hybrids sold into the new vehicle market has fallen from 2.9 percent to 2.4 percent over the past three years. Moreover, approximately two-thirds of hybrid owners who returned to the market in 2011 did not buy another hybrid.

"Intuitively, you would expect the numbers to be higher, given how many hybrid vehicles are available in the market place today," Brad Smith, director of Polk's loyalty management practice, told us.

Polk's study revealed that only 35 percent of hybrid owners chose to purchase a hybrid again when returning to the market in 2011. The repurchase rate was even lower -- under 25 percent -- when owners of the Toyota Prius were excluded from the statistics.

Industry experts familiar with the study don't believe that the low percentage of return buyers is a reflection of dissatisfaction with hybrids. Most hybrids, such as the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight, have performed well in reliability studies and have offered fuel efficiencies as advertised.

But hybrids now face competition from conventional gasoline-burning and diesel-burning vehicles that are boosting their fuel efficiencies. As a result, prospective buyers whose main concern is vehicle operating costs may be less inclined to choose a hybrid.

"People who buy hybrids because they are eco-friendly are more likely to stick with it and buy another hybrid," said Lacey Plache, chief economist for Edmunds.com. "But hybrids are facing really strong competition in terms of attracting consumers who are just looking at the bottom line."


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Technical
KEYWORDS: automakers; automobile; battery; car; honda; hybrid; prius; toyota
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To: posterchild

Waste Management Inc. our local garbage company is converting their garbage truck fleet to natural gas............


21 posted on 09/25/2012 9:06:46 AM PDT by Red Badger (Anyone who thinks wisdom comes with age is either too young or too stupid to know the difference....)
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To: varyouga

I would have thought that big battery would make a great weight...................


22 posted on 09/25/2012 9:08:14 AM PDT by Red Badger (Anyone who thinks wisdom comes with age is either too young or too stupid to know the difference....)
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To: Red Badger
Waste Management Inc. our local garbage company is converting their garbage truck fleet to natural gas............

That actually may make sense... the conversion is relatively inexpensive and the when compared to gasoline the energy equivalent makes natural gas approximately $1.50 per gallon.

23 posted on 09/25/2012 9:15:14 AM PDT by fireman15 (Check your facts before making ignorant statements.)
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To: fireman15

I think they are using diesel........


24 posted on 09/25/2012 9:30:12 AM PDT by Red Badger (Anyone who thinks wisdom comes with age is either too young or too stupid to know the difference....)
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To: Red Badger

Well they aren’t converting the diesels. They must be buying new trucks. They are probably doing that because of the new diesel regulations. The new filters on the exhaust side must have the particulate burned out of them using a “regen” cycle. This isn’t a big problem for trucks operated mostly on the highway, but for fire engines, garbage trucks and other diesel trucks used mostly around town... it is a huge hassle and waste of fuel. They must leave the truck running for hours at high rpms with a fuel and regen fluid mixture being injected directly into the filter assembly to burn out the particulate. It is one of the stupidest things that the EPA has come out with recently and is causing lots of firms to turn from diesel for local use.


25 posted on 09/25/2012 9:53:02 AM PDT by fireman15 (Check your facts before making ignorant statements.)
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To: Red Badger
I have a 2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid. It has almost 80,000 miles on it. It has been a very reliable vehicle. The mileage ranges from 21 MPG in a cold winter to 28 MPG in fair weather and about 26 MPG overall. The best ever was nearly 32 MPG when I traveled with no heating/cooling, cruise control on, no traffic and an average ambient temperature around 75 degrees. That happened ONCE in 5 years of ownership. The hybrid can only pull 1,000 lbs vs 5,000 lbs for the V-6 Escape it replaced. It is pretty gutless. Acceleration is slow. Little engine heat, so your teeth chatter for a long time in subzero weather waiting for "seat heat" and numb heater to deal with the frigid temps. The 4WD has been perfect in our snowy Pocatello environment. Air conditioning is fine for trips across the CA desert.
26 posted on 09/25/2012 10:34:24 AM PDT by Myrddin
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To: Red Badger

Natural gas is an excellent choice for a fleet vehicle (and could be for others with an infrastructure buildout). Natural gas vehicles can also use hybrid tech.


27 posted on 09/25/2012 12:27:18 PM PDT by posterchild
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To: alloysteel
Sometime later, I chose to purchase a small trailer, to carry both the power chair, and an electric scooter, only to discover, there is no legal way to connect the trailer lights to the Escape Hybrid’s electrical system.

I had successful connections twice to the Mercury Mariner Hybrid for the trailer wiring. First pass was done by the U-Haul dealer. That failed and I replaced it with another module from a trailer supply company. That worked for a few months until it failed when a wire driving the trailer lamps got pinched to ground and burned up the driver module. That also burned down my battery. It is possible to properly run trailer lights with the correct driver modules, but it takes some real care to not screw it up.

My Mariner Hybrid has backup sensors, so the correct wiring interface module is at this link

28 posted on 09/25/2012 12:31:51 PM PDT by Myrddin
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To: ImJustAnotherOkie

Just curious, why would ANYBODY buy a dog slow hybrid as a “hobby” car?


29 posted on 09/25/2012 12:33:31 PM PDT by nascarnation (Defeat Baraq 2012. Deport Baraq 2013)
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To: nascarnation

Why do liberals behave the way they do? They are space aliens. The Hybrid gives them the electric juice to contact their home planet Dumas.


30 posted on 09/25/2012 1:30:44 PM PDT by ImJustAnotherOkie (zerogottago)
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To: Red Badger
The battery is heavy but the rest of the car is very light and proportionally too large for the tiny eco-weasel wheels.

Based on the snow tracks, it also seemed to be more narrow than every other car on the road.

31 posted on 09/25/2012 9:26:04 PM PDT by varyouga
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