A meaningless hybrid?
If you’re at the Detroit Auto Show, or following the coverage, you might think the automotive world has really changed. All our troubles are behind and new green vehicles, particularly hybrids and plug-in vehicles, are set to make everything better.
Yet, in ten years less than 10 percent of America’s automotive fleet will be hybrid or plug-in – at best – according to almost every automotive analyst and researcher.
Anyway, this year in Detroit the Ford Fusion hybrid was awarded The North American Car of the Year. And it’s deserving. Everything about the Fusion hybrid is great, except for sales. Sure, almost 30,000 Ford consumers bought a Fusion hybrid last year, however, over 400,000 Ford consumers bought a gas-guzzling Ford F150.
And next year in Detroit, the Chevy Volt will probably win The North American Car of the Year. Yet, the Volt will probably move even less units than did the Fusion hybrid in its first year. Even more alarming, by 2020, according to GM executives like Bob Lutz, plug-ins like the Volt will still only appeal to about 5 – 10 percent of consumers.
Today, even hybrid king Toyota only offers the third most fuel efficient fleet in America – despite selling 200,000 hybrids – thanks to its many gas-guzzler sales.
Sadly, in tens years the US auto fleet won’t be much more fuel efficient than it is today, and green vehicles will still be just a niche, but at least we’ll get to enjoy a decade of superb greenwashing along the way.
see also........
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- Fusion hybrid takes 2010 Car of the Year Award
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- Ford Fusion hybrid the best hybrid in the US?
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- Hybrid Leadership: Why not from BMW?
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- Fusion hybrid: A Car and Driver 10 Best for 2010
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- Fusion hybrid, Prius: Consumer Reports Buy Again Vehicles
- Would you buy your car again? Every year Consumer Reports asks its subscribers if they would buy their car again. Pretty much every year, the Toyota Prius is one of the top ‘buy again’ vehicles, as it was again this year, coming in at number 5. But the Prius wasn’t the top hybrid on this year’s list. Coming [...]...
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- When did Toyota pull the plug on plug-in hybrids?
- Toyota the plug-in naysayer? During a period of more than 3 years Toyota tested about 150 lithium-powered plug-in Prius hybrids – a fleet still larger than GM’s current Chevy Volt fleet – logging more than 1 million real world miles in almost every type of driving condition imaginable. The lithium batteries used proved safe and reliable, [...]...
- Land Rover Going Green
- The race against the clock is on for Land Rover to adapt itself to a world where CO2 emissions count. Currently Land Rover’s range of heavy, powerful sport utility vehicles puts it in a potentially dangerous spot for the future where the European Union’s impending legislations threaten to wipe out the great off-roader altogether. As [...]...
- Land Rover Going Green
- The race against the clock is on for Land Rover to adapt itself to a world where CO2 emissions count. Currently Land Rover’s range of heavy, powerful sport utility vehicles puts it in a potentially dangerous spot for the future where the European Union’s impending legislations threaten to wipe out the great off-roader altogether. As [...]...
