Technology  March 17, 2006

Hybrid popularity driven by more than tax credits

It may be, as Kermit the Frog sings, hard to be green. It can also be tough to get green, as many would-be hybrid car purchasers have found.

With gas prices solidly above $2 a gallon, hybrid cars are selling before they are even built. Northern Colorado car buyers may wait from five to six weeks to upwards of three months and longer for a hybrid.

Tax credits and insurance discounts offered to hybrid car owners have probably spurred some buyers to the showroom, but aren’t driving the strong sales of hybrid automobiles, say area car sellers.

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The cars, it appears, sell themselves to buyers who already know what they want.

“Hondas pretty much sell out,” noted Erin Moomey, salesperson at Markley in Fort Collins. “A lot of times the old model will sell out before the new ones come in. We sold out of the 2005s before we even got any of the 2006s for hybrids and regular cars in general.”

Tax credits offered by both the state and federal government helped raise interest in hybrid cars, Moomey said. “Definitely people who come in and ask about the hybrids are curious about the tax break. I don’t know if people who actually end up buying them do it just for that reason.”

Bradley Berman, editor of HybridCars.com, said buyers probably aren’t purchasing hybrids because of tax credits.

“My personal feeling is that hybrids would sell just as well without many of those incentives.”

It’s hard to quantify the difference that the incentives make to sales of hybrid cars, Berman said. “It certainly doesn’t hurt. But the fact remains that all hybrids that are being manufactured are being sold and sold quickly at or above sticker price.”

Hybrid cars combine the benefits of gasoline engines and electric motors to produce more fuel economy. A typical hybrid design uses an electric motor to start the car rolling at low speeds. A gas engine, which operates more efficiently at higher speeds, kicks in as speeds pick up. The electric motor can also provide additional power when needed such as during acceleration or passing.

Sales of hybrids in the U.S. doubled in 2005. Still, the cars make up only a small percentage of all new car sales – about 1.2 percent, according to HybridCars.com. The Web site estimates that fewer than 10,000 hybrids sold in the year 2000; total sales grew to more than 200,000 in 2005. That compares with some 17 million cars and light trucks sold that year.

Several makes now feature one or more hybrid models including Toyota, Honda, Ford and GM. Models range from the two-door, two-seat Honda Insight to a $50,000 Lexus sport utility vehicle. The 2005 new car season brought 10 hybrid vehicles to the market.

Who wants to own a hybrid?

Berman said studies have found that hybrid car owners tend to be slightly older than the average car buyer, more educated and more affluent. “Although the hybrids are not especially expensive, by most standards, the people buying them tend to be more affluent,” Berman said.

Their motives, it appears, are broad, ranging from the environmental to the geo-political.

Colin Cree, Internet sales manager for Ehrlich Toyota in Greeley, said hybrid buyers tend to come in two groups. “We’re seeing an even split between people who want to be good to the environment and people who want to save money.”

Hybrid buyers are typically concerned about gas mileage and often are seeking a car that holds its value, Cree said.

Toyota’s Prius, considered the best-selling hybrid, is the most aerodynamic car on the road, Cree said. The base price for the car is about $23,951 and the EPA estimated gas mileage is 60 miles per gallon in town, 51 on the highway.

Gas mileage depends on how the car is driven, Cree said. “This car has quite a lot of power.” If it’s driven harder, fuel economy decreases.

Toyota also features a hybrid Highlander. The four-wheel-drive hybrid starts at about $37,000, Cree said, and gets an estimated 31 miles per gallon in town, 27 on the highway. Buyers tend to be people who want better fuel efficiency in a sport utility vehicle.

A hybrid Camry model is expected this spring or summer, Cree said.

Honda’s most popular hybrid is the Civic, Moomey said. Available only in a four-door version, the base price is about $22,300. That buys EPA estimated gas mileage of about 49 in town, 51 on the highway.

The hybrid Accord is priced at about $31,500 and is a V-6 hybrid, Moomey said, explaining that it offers a more high-powered car with improved fuel economy. Its gas mileage is estimated at about 29 miles per gallon in town, 37 on the highway.

It may be, as Kermit the Frog sings, hard to be green. It can also be tough to get green, as many would-be hybrid car purchasers have found.

With gas prices solidly above $2 a gallon, hybrid cars are selling before they are even built. Northern Colorado car buyers may wait from five to six weeks to upwards of three months and longer for a hybrid.

Tax credits and insurance discounts offered to hybrid car owners have probably spurred some buyers to the showroom, but aren’t driving the strong sales of hybrid automobiles, say area car sellers.

The cars, it appears,…

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