Small car, hybrid sales taking a long drive off a short pier

While I don't think hybrids are the end-all solution, I do agree that people have incredible short-sightedness when it comes to fuel price volatility.
I have two V8 vehicles, but no commute. If I did have to drive more, I would buy a more efficient machine, even as fuel prices have dropped.

Why is anyone suprised by this, human have always been short sighted

Its a well known fact that I've been bashing Hybrids and Electrics pretty hard and my opinion is still the same. They just do not work or fit into our lives the way the current car does. We humans want a car that moves our whole lives forward and not portions of it forward and other parts of our lives backwards!!!

Checkout the following link and you'll see what I mean http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOfzbaglUOo

www.mywheelsonwalls.com

MWOW:

i think the problem with your view about hybrids and electrics is valid for the current products and this is the reason why i hate the prius and other similar cars: they're rubbish cars to drive. brilliant on paper, but absolutely not designed with the "driver" in mind. and yes, they get 40-50 mpg instead of the advertised 70mpg but how many people are getting the rated mileage out of their vehicles? I drive a 2008 focus, with the 5 speed manual. its supposed to get 35+ mpg but i average about 42. why? im a lead foot so dont think that im babying the car. its because i drive 40miles every day on the same road with a 30mph speed limit and about 10 stops. the cruise is always on at just over 30mph and every time i accelerate, the car is in 2nd gear and the accelerator is on the floor.

if you drive like that, on that same route, with a prius, you'll get worse mileage. i can guarantee it cause ive done it.

hybrids are also crap on the highway. today's hybrids. tomorrows hybrids will have more purposefully designed motors.

hybrids excel in city driving. if you do nothing but slow speed stop and go driving, then a prius will give you 50+mpg. and in a city you arent cornering fast or anything crazy like that.. so the drive is just about comfort and economy.

trust me, i know the complaints of hybrids and todays products arent even scratching the surface as far as the technology.

basically, if the world had nothing but the chrysler K car and the pontiac sunfire, you'd think "these car thingers are completely horrible". bottom line.

also i personally feel that toyota plays with the consumers mind. they design boring cars and they sell well, because people think "well if that car is selling and its that boring then it must have something goo about it that i just dont understand" (quality) and they buy it. the prius is ugly, drives like crap, the interior on my ford is better, and the ride is comparable to a 30 year old mattress. but people want them cause they clearly have to be desirable based on something that you cant see.

who buys priuses? the same people who bought large SUVs. they have their rich exuberant vehicle, and they have their prius to offset it. its a form of self inflicted poverty. its been labeled as green, people think of it as green, it drives like crap, its all around a horrible car, and people love torturing themselves by driving them around.

when you see a homeless person, you'll be less inclined to buy some expensive clothing, you'll eat less on your next meal. its not helping out those homeless people but you feel better about yourself afterwards.

thats what the prius is.

but dont lump "hybrid" and "electric" vehicles into this whole market. sure the tesla roadster doesnt corner like the elise, but its faster.. and it sure as hell will outperform almost every other car around. its a good product.

Just because you've never had a good hot dog before doesnt mean that there arent excellent hot dogs out there. and even if there arent any good hot dogs out there.. they could still be made well.

[end rant]

but yes,.. consumers are extremely short sighted. especially those of us in the west.

Chris what I'm getting at with electrics is that if you cant give me 300 miles of range in less than three to four minutes the product is just never going to sell!!! Next time you fill you car with gas time it then call a Tesla dealer and ask him/her when my Tesla runs out of juice how long does it take to charge it? Until the answer is three minutes approx. for 300 miles of travel the whole concept of rushing out and supplying the world with electric cars is a complete and utter pipe dream...

is range that big of a concern for people? i mean actually?

case in point: i live 20 miles from school, work, what ever. i rarely take trips outside of that. strictly speaking, 99% of my travel can be done with a 40 mile range. but now we're talking purely electric. if we look at something like the Volt, an electric car with 40 miles range plus a generator to give you another 3 or 400 miles in range, what is the complaint? I'm hoping it has good drive dynamics and is a relatively enjoyable car compared to the prius.. but the point stands.

if you want a city runabout, you have EVs. if you want something with more than a typical day's worth of commuting power, the hybrid cars of tomorrow will suffice.

just dont discount the whole idea in a blanket statement based on today's crappy products. if you got behind the wheel of a model T you'd probably wonder how the hell we even got to where we are today.