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Hybrid Autos Drawing Increased Interest December 2004Sometimes curiosity seekers surround the car. Other times Randolph will find handprints on her car -- a tell-tell sign that someone peered into the window.Since buying a hybrid Toyota Prius earlier this month, Randolph of Huntington has found many more people were interested in hybrid cars that are powered both by electricity and gas. "It is real fun to drive," Randolph, 64, said. "I am saving the environment. It is not polluting the atmosphere. It gets good gas mileage." The increased interest in hybrid cars has not fallen on deaf ears in the auto industry. The market for hybrid cars in 2005 will grow significantly as Ford and Lexus introduce Sport Utility Vehicle hybrids while Honda and Toyota will introduce new hybrid models to add to the ones they already make. Until now, the only widely distributed hybrids were the Honda Civic hybrid, the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius. Local dealers expect to see many of the new hybrid models in the spring. The first of the new hybrid models first graced Honda showroom floors in the Tri-State this month when the Honda Accord hybrid arrived.Moses Honda on U.S. 60 in Barboursville and Sim Fryson Honda in Ashland both have one Accord hybrid in stock with a handful more on the way in the next month. Once spring arrives, so too will new hybrids from Toyota, Lexus and Ford at some local dealers. With the exception of the Accord hybrid, all new hybrids for this year will take the form of SUVs. Dates for when the new hybrids will become available locally remain to be announced, but waiting lists for some are already under way. Advantage Toyota in Barboursville expects to receive its hybrid midsize SUV Toyota Highlander sometime in late spring with many already on a waiting list. The first Lexus RX 400h hybrid SUV probably will arrive at Love Lexus in Saint Albans in April. Boyd County Ford in Ashland expects to start selling Ford Escape hybrids in April or May. Hybrid owners give a variety of reasons for why they bought their car. Many cite the hybrids fuel efficiency, which can range as high as 50 to 60 miles per gallon for a regular car, and the rise in gas prices as driving the heightened interest in hybrids among West Virginians. Yet the debate still rages on the economic benefits of hybrids, since most hybrids cost several thousand more than their traditional gas counterparts. Randolph bought her Prius not to save money but for the other high-tech features. The cars voice-activated navigation system has helped her find restaurants in the two weeks since she bought the car, she said. "You talk to the car and say I am hungry and it shows you restaurant icons," Randolph said. "You dont have to take the hands off the steering wheel. It does the navigation." High gas prices prompted Jim Stone of Huntington to buy a Prius seven months ago. Stone said he wanted to stop paying $50 a month for gas. Now he uses half the gasoline he did with his previous car. "I could afford it, but $50 a month develops into a considerable amount of money a year," Stone said. First viewed as a novelty, hybrids have become more mainstream in the Tri-State, dealers said. Hybrids rarely are seen on the showroom floor at Advantage Toyota as most are already sold before they arrive. One Prius made the showroom floor Wednesday and was sold within minutes, said Jason Smalley, sales representative for Advantage Toyota. If a local person doesnt buy it, a buyer from elsewhere in the country will, Smalley said. Waiting lists in many metropolitan areas for hybrids extend to more than two years, he said. Waiting lists for Prius in the Tri-State usually are 45 days, he said. The cars come out of the factory at a measured pace with Advantage Toyota selling about four to six hybrids a month, Smalley said. This draws buyers from New Jersey and as far away as Los Angeles to Barboursville to buy a hybrid and bypass the long waits, he said. About 20 percent of the hybrid sales at Advantage Toyota are from people out of town, he said. Now that the hybrid has come of age, the varieties of electric and gas cars will start rapidly expanding, Smalley said. Toyota has set a goal by 2008 to have hybrid versions of all its types of cars, Smalley said. The growing public demand makes this goal reasonable, he said. "We have sold a lot locally to people of all types," Smalley said. "Many are totally wrapped up in getting 60 miles to a gallon." Other dealers also anticipate a short supply and high demand for the new hybrid models. Interested customers already have started calling Boyd County Ford about the arrival of hybrid Ford Escapes, said Tim Conley, general manager. The hybrid SUV will get between 29 and 36 miles per gallon. Information on when the Escapes will become available in the Tri-State remains sketchy, but Conley said he anticipates submitting advance orders in February or March. Finding one on the showroom floor will be a rare sight, Conley said. "When the production first comes out, supply is going to be down from the demand," Conley said. "I dont look for the product to be real plentiful." Representatives with Turnpike Ford in Huntington or Marmet could not be reached for comment. Orders for the Lexus RX 400h hybrid SUV already have started coming in to Love Lexus in St. Albans, said Earl Smith, a sales representative. Lexus, however, has yet to announce how many hybrids will be available in April when he expects them to arrive, Smith said. "I think they will be pre-sold before they get here," Smith said. The RX 400h will have the same engine as the regular RX but with batteries in the front and back and an electric motor on each wheel that will generate more electricity as the driver lets off the gas, Smith said. While more local residents are considering hybrid cars, the local demand has not matched that of more urban areas, said John Perry, sales manager for Sim Fryson Honda in Ashland. Perry estimates he has sold about eight to 10 Honda Civic hybrids this year. Demand in the Tri-State ebbs and flows with gas prices, he said. "I think hybrid cars gained in popularity when gas was going up to $2," Perry said. "When gas is $2 a gallon or more, we get more hybrid inquiries. When gas goes to $1.70 and under, we tend to get less." Hybrid technology only will continue to grow with an emphasis on offering hybrid technology in SUVs and pickup trucks, said Paul Taylor, sales representative for Moses Honda in Barboursville. "I think eventually it will go more to hybrid," Taylor said. "The consumer doesnt have to do anything different. They can go to the gas station and do what they regularly do. "The sport utility vehicle is what it is leading up to. If they can do that, that will be a big plus. That is what you are having the toughest time with getting good gas mileage." Between 2005 and 2008, many auto manufacturers are developing more hybrid vehicles, some of which currently are available in limited areas of the country or to certain commercial clients. Among some of these hybrids are the GMC Sierra hybrid full-sized pickup truck, the Chevy Silverado hybrid full-size pickup truck and the Mercury Mariner SUV hybrid. | ||
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