We bought a Toyota Prius a couple of years ago and we love the gas mileage: 45 MPG! It has really made a difference to the amount of money we pay to Chevron every month. Frank uses it to drive to his job and to run his errands. However, if we have a long drive to San Diego, it’s our old SUV that we pack up because it is far more spacious and safer on the freeways that we have to share with semi’s, RV’s, and impatient speeders . And the dogs aren’t allowed in the Prius and so it’s fairly fur-free, except for those stray pieces that have come off of our own clothes.
Apparently the Nissan Leaf is now being sold and driven around California. A study performed by a market research company called NPD Group, Inc., concluded that driving behavior changes when gasoline prices reach $3 and driving patterns change when gasoline prices reach $4. Uh, I could have told you that without a market research study! According to the study, at $3, people are more likely to carpool or drive less. At $4 people make more permanent changes like buy a hybrid vehicle (which is what we did last time the gas price was over $4), work from home, or get an apartment or house closer to work.
And rumor is that higher gas prices are coming.
We’re probably going to have to buy another gas-efficient car. The Leaf has a driving range of only 100 miles, so it probably wouldn’t suit us with our rural address. The Chevrolet Volt, which just came on the market, has a longer range because it also has a lithium-ion battery. The Mini Cooper electric version also has a lithium battery (which is so big that the electric version is much heavier than the regular version), but you can only lease these vehicles rather than buy them. And the small size wouldn’t be practical for toting around large dogs and groceries.
I feel more comfortable with a hybrid car compared to an all-electric car. It has an alternative fuel source so I don’t need to worry about running out of energy on Highway 88 in the middle of a January snow storm. If I lived in a city, this probably wouldn’t be such an issue.
Of all the hybrids, the Prius continues to be the one with the best gas mileage—51 mpg in the city.
Electric and hybrid automobiles are on the rise. The demand has been greater than manufacturing can keep up with (we had to wait 6 months to get our Prius). The Japanese car companies saw the need and acted on it faster than the American and European car companies. Will Ford, GM, or BMW be able to catch up with Toyota and Nissan? Management of these companies underestimated the market for this technology and they are being punished for their short-sightedness.
The next few years will be exciting to watch in the automobile industry.
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