kiesan

kiesan

MielsOnWheels

Since 1997 and through April 2012, the entire global sales of Prius were 2.87 million. Certainly a big number, but over 15 years and as a percentage of global automotive sales, this is a very small number. Add in the cost of manufacturing (batteries and associated stuff) and the price premium one pays on a hybrid vs. a comparable small, fuel efficient car like the Chevy Cruze, and hybrid cars are and will continue to be an niche segment in our global fleet.

I'm all for reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, but until hybrid cars achieve the cost/performance/size/ feature profile of a similiar gas/diesel powered alternative, they will be a bit player in the market.

And let's not forget about the huge amount of energy it takes to manufacture those batteries...and how long will they sit in a landfill after they are used up? If buying one makes someone feel good, great, but no one should believe they are a solution to our reliance on foreign oil...now about that Keystone pipeline...

Ed Hughes

Exactly. While the Prius is the most successful of Hybrids, it is far from "quite successful" in the auto world. And, that is with various incentives over the long term. The market has spoken.

I think any US Taxpayer should be more critical of many of our Government's energy-related moves, which was really my point to start with, whether it be dumping cash in Fisker's lap, subsidizing Ethanol production, etc.

MielsOnWheels

Not enough at stake? I'd respectfully disagree. We've got A LOT at stake when the government decides it wants to further extend its extra-Constitutional tentacles using our money in some kind of amateur venture-capital excursion. They try to pick winners and losers and end up always picking losers.

The rest I don't really care about? Again, with respect, there's alot to care about. Namely the loss of our freedom and the crushing debt ad deficits that are destroying our present and our kid's futures. Friday's jobs report should put the exclamation point on that sentence. What is happening in the great state of California is the canary in the coal mine for what will/is happening in the U.S. as a whole. When people don't like what's happening in a state, they can vote with their feet. A little tougher to do that at the national level.

MielsOnWheels

This is classic. Just a couple of questions:

How much did it cost to install that charger in the garage?
How much did it cost to manufacture that charger?
How much energy did it take to manufacture that charger?
How much fuel was used by the transportation infrastructure (planes, boats, trucks, etc.) to transport all of the parts that go into building that charger?
How much fuel was used by the guys who carted it over to this guys house to install it?
And the big question, how much energy is this charger bleeding off the grid to charge up the 100k hybrid?

Just saying...

Robert993TT

I read a review recently, and it said that the Fister Karma was to heavy. It´s one thing to drive around in city environment, another to drive longer distances its not fuel efficient. The same thing can be said about the Prius. For such use there are much better cars around.

Living in Europe where the fuel prices are high compared to the US and some other countries, one can recognize that consumers want more efficient cars. In some countries diesel has always been popular, but in recent years other European countries that traditionally has used petrol, has gone over to diesel more and more. With that said. Most of the fuel price in Europe is tax. It would not surprise me if the tax on other future car "fuels" will be as high as today. One way or another, governments around the world needs money to finance public services. Call me cynical.

What happened to the environment talk before the finance crisis? Now its just talk about debt. Talk about the environment is not in fashion anymore. Politicians has other things to discuss it seems.