why would they do that if it doesnt make any business sense for them at this point? Consumers want choice and I am all for that. Why dictate what people can or can't buy. Plus not all hybrids get good gas mileage. Look at some the SUV hybrids.
Another way to look at it is if you drive an average of 12000 miles per year, and get 30 mpg, you spend 100 dollars per month in gas @ $3.00 per gallon. You can lease a leaf for 350 bucks a month and it only costs you $40 per month at .10 cents per kw/h and you avoid any battery failure anxiety. Of course some people pay more than .10 per kw/h, gas isn't always 3 bucks, and most cars get quite a bit less than 30 mpg in the real world.
Hybrids cost substantially more than non-hybrids and until that's no longer an issue, there will always be demand for non-hybrids. /thread
He doesn't care about demand from consumers. He wants there to be no choice because he is brain washed into thinking that the heavy metal storage sleds are somehow more environmentally friendly and everyone should be forced to use them.
high caseyh. you don't have to be a douche in every thread. when I ask a question on this site I ask it without agenda. i don't know much about hybrids, and am learning in this thread. i honestly thought a lot of things being equal that why wouldn't we just make hybrids. sometimes decisions are made like that for the the general good of the people. so no need to go to the brain wash card. no one's being a douche but you as usual.
Hi. My reply was not to you but to inform others that you were actually talking about a government action to force people to buy more expensive cars that will cost more to operate and not even have mpg benefit for many drivers.
The LEAF is a non-starter for most people because of it's very limited range. At most you can squeeze out about 100 miles on a charge. And that's if you are in cruise mode. That constraint makes it impossible for this car to replace gas engines for the near tiime future.
car companies would not do that because it would be their death. The market for hybrids / electrics is way to small for any company to go 100% hybrid today. I am sure as the cost declines it will be an option - but I agree with Casey oon this one.
I think we're ignoring two important things.. 1) I think we should be comparing the average price of a hybrid to the average price of a non-hybrid. Doesn't make sense to me that we're comparing one example of a hybrid to the cheapest fuel-efficient car right? 2) If you ramp up hybrid production very significantly, the cost (for producer and consumer) will/should go down significantly, and influx of cash into R&D for hybrids will also increase, leading to better technology. Just thinking out loud..
again, the cost would go down eventually, after companies gradually changed their facilities to build hybrids. the change is for manufacturers to build hybrids, not force people to buy them when their is a choice.
a couple of things here in houston people are forced to buy one type of trash bag to put their leaves in, and its more expensive than a regular trash bag. obviously this is for the environment. B-Bob has dispelled the notion that switching cars to hybrids wouldn't help the environment that much. however, oil dependecy is still a national security issue. also in texas it used to be $15 bucks to get an inspection sticker for your car. now its $40 and if you don't pass you might have to get an expensive upgrade to your car to meet complience.
Because to some people it's not about getting from point A to point B in the most efficient way possible. Not at the expense of driving enjoyment. <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rgZlpRdQlRI?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rgZlpRdQlRI?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>
I believe that the margins aren't very good, perhaps even negative on hybrids. In other words, hybrids are produced not because car makers want to sell a ton of them, but because they want to match thier competitors in marketing how green they are, and they want you to come into the dealership thinking that's what you're going to get, then get something else. Just as an example, Chevy made the PT Cruiser as something differnt that got folks into the dealership. They didn't want to sell that many of them and we're disappointed that it took business away from thier more profitable models. That's the story anyway. I think it's also important to remember that electricity really only is a way of storing energy. The idea is that you make better use of the energy that's wasted from a gasoline engine. Braking is the primary loss that's recovered I believe. So, electric cars can only lower our dependence on oil, not eliminate it. In some regards, that can be negated by raising the price of oil. Personally, the idea of a car itself is remarkably inefficient. Regardless of whether you're gas, electric, solar, wind, whatever....you're going to waste a ton trying to get yourself, tons of steel, and the rest of Houston going 20+ miles a day. Public transportation, no matter how inefficent, will always be better. Really though, it seems kinda silly that we leave our computers and telecommuication technolgy at home only to go to an office with similar computing power. Much of what we do in life is rather wasteful and nonsensical...it doesn't really accomplish much of anything other then sticking with our habits and personal enjoyment.
This. Also, there are so many companies in the US that are tied to foreign oil. Some of these companies main customers come from those evil oil countries you're talking about. There is just too much money tied into the oil over there. It is pretty ridiculous when you actually realize how many people have their entire lives dependent on oil. The economy would suffer if these companies started losing revenue.
How will economies of scale make NiMH batteries or electric motors cheaper? they already make these on a massive scale and making more hybrids would not move production. It would most likely make them more expensive because the increase in demand would make the various metals more appealing to speculators.
^Werd...it's not economical, just as wind farms aren't economical...basically companies get the warm fuzzy feeling about being green and/or environmentally friendly...
