Policymakers and car builders have decided that battery-powered autos are the future of transportation in America. But are we? What does the average American think? I asked Jody Victorto tell us about it.
Jody Victor: Is America ready for cars that run on electricity? The pollsters seem to think so - for years, surveys have found that a majority of drivers in the United States are interested in gas-electric hybrid vehicles. Get on the highway, however, and it's another story. Although hybrids have been available since 1997, gas and diesel vehicles currently make up more than 97 percent of new automobile sales. In another survey people from around the country were asked what they're looking for in a car and what it would take to put a battery-powered vehicle in their driveway.
Not a surprise - Americans are put off by the high price of hybrids, especially in today's economy. Other reasons for not buying a hybrid range from the family not fitting in a hybrid vehicle, or they don't make hybrid pickups, to the possibility of replacing expensive parts (headlights for a hybrid cost about $1000 each.
Some of those polled were all for hybrids - but some time in the future - they aren't willing to give up their high-performance cars, muscle-cars, or collectibles. Most participants said they didn't know specifics about EV range, performance or recharging. GM missed the boat on it's EV1 - they would only lease them not sell them - still a sore subject with the previous owners. Many people could not justify the cost of a hybrid vehicle compared with the projected savings of gasoline. We thought about buying a hybrid ourselves but figured out with our style of driving we would never make up the higher cost of the vehicle in gas savings - we just don't drive enough.
The bottom line seems to be that Americans are not ready to completely change to hybrid or EV vehicles - this will need to be a gradual process - several decades in the making.
Thanks, Jody! We'll be sure to check out hybrids next time we are ready to purchase.