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Car Owners Get a Charge Out of Driving New Hybrids August 2004Sunday, August 15, 2004 - Leslie and Howard Fisher are vegetarian environmentalists who drive a hybrid gasoline-electric car."We decided to put our money where our mouth is and support the companies who are putting out the research,' Leslie Fisher said. "We're always trying to conserve energy, and we don't like to depend on oil- rich companies.' The Whittier couple, mobile disc jockeys, sprung for a blue Honda Civic Hybrid for $19,000, got a DSC JKY license plate and named the car "Sparky.' The dealership where they bought their car, Norm Reeves Honda in West Covina, is experiencing a growing demand for hybrids, Norm Reeves Internet and Fleet Manager Gus Acosta said. With gas prices still high, many car-buyers are considering the three hybrid cars on the market: the Honda Insight, Honda Civic Hybrid and the Toyota Prius, which run $3,000 to $4,000 more than a regular Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla. In the San Gabriel Valley, gas prices are about $2.03 at Mobil and Unocal 76 gas stations, and around $1.99 at Arco stations. Prices spiked in June, went down in July, and are creeping back up again, according to Walter McManus, executive director of forecasting and analysis at J.D. Power and Associates. Combined nationwide sales for the three hybrids were 7,227 in July and 6,082 in June. At the same time last year, about 2,500 hybrids were sold in each of those months, McManus said. However, because of their higher costs, fuel-efficient cars are not as cost-effective as they seem, he said. "If you look at the cost, it takes seven years to make that back,' McManus said. Honda hybrids are made in Japan. Nearly all Honda and Toyota dealerships in the San Gabriel Valley sell hybrids, but their stock is low because it takes longer to ship from Japan. "If we have six, we sell six, if we have 12, we sell 12,' Acosta said. A hybrid sitting on the showroom floor will be sold in 72 hours, he said. The Civic Hybrid averages 650 miles for one tank of gas, whereas a Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic usually runs about 300 a tank, according to Acosta. A Civic Hybrid costs about $21,200, whereas a Civic EX costs about $18,700, Acosta said. Price differences for the Prius went down $1,000 from 2003 to this year, and by 2005 the price difference will shrink even more, McManus said. Hybrids will always be at least hundreds to a thousand more than gas cars because there is a larger battery and other engine differences, he said. Hybrid buyers are still primarily intellectuals and environmentalists such as the Fishers, and will probably continue to be until the price difference shrinks between hybrids and regular cars, McManus said. Also, 2001 hybrid Toyota and Hondas were reported as having twice as many engine problems as their gas-powered counterparts, according to the J.D. Power 2004 Vehicle Dependability Study. However, hybrids are significantly better for the environment he said, with the Toyota Prius having partial-zero emissions. The Prius and Insight are also still ranked in the top five of the compact car division, McManus said. "They're considered one of the cleanest,' South Coast Air Quality Management District spokeswoman Tina Cherry said. "We go out to dealerships to put decals on the cars so customers know they have a choice. The clean vehicles out there aren't only electric, but also hybrids.' A new car that runs 100,000 miles emits 12 pounds of hydrocarbons (a pollutant), whereas a hybrid vehicle only emits 2.2 pounds of hydrocarbons, Cherry said. Hybrids also have nifty features. Oil changes are every 10,000 miles versus 3,000 miles for gas-powered cars. The gasoline engine automatically shuts off when you're at a stoplight. As you speed up, the dial goes from "charge' to "assist,' and the gasoline engine kicks in. The batteries charge while the car runs, and never need recharging. Civic Hybrids account for 8 percent of all Civics sold nationwide in a month. Total sales of hybrids last year were 47,525, McManus said. Ivy Dai can be reached at (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2730, or by e-mail at ivy.dai@sgvn.com . Source: Pasadena Star-News | ||
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