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Hybrid Cars Are Moving Into The Mainstream November 2004With high gasoline prices,it might not be surprising hybrid vehicles are selling quite well. These cars and trucks run on a combination of gasoline and electric power.Two Japanese car makers now sell them here in Tucson, and an American manufacturer plans to begin selling them soon. Hybrid cars have moved into the mainstream, with more people buying them and still more wishing they had them. One big reason could be they work best in heavy traffic, when gasoline engines are at their worst fuel efficiency. "Ever since late '99 when we've been selling 'em," said Michael Nenedic of Dobbs Honda. "They've been absolutely bullet-proof." "It's a clean emission vehicle," said Troy Kerth of Precision Toyota, "and there are a lot of reasons for that, but wow, what a great car and what a safe car." They're clean. They're quiet. And they're getting popular. A big reason they're selling is fuel efficiency. "Mostly, people lately are just fed up paying $2.20 a gallon for gas," says Nenedic, "and we've had a lot of luxury cars, a lot of sport utilities traded in on these, and I think people are just fed up." Renee Nelson has owned her Honda civic hybrid for two-and-a-half years. She's already put 47-thousand miles on it. She gets 45-miles-a-gallon, and that's city driving. Fuel efficiency means a lot to her. "We've gone to California. I go a lot to Phoenix. I go around in town here," explains Nelson. "I live about 18 miles from work, and I have some other things I do. I have friends all over, and I put a lot of miles on it." But Nelson says she's also glad she doesn't have to give up comfort or safety. Her civic has dual airbags, as well as airbags in the side. Nahemi Erving and her husband Dale bought a Toyota Prius back in the summer. They like their hybrid so much, they're planning to get another, when the Lexis comes out in a couple months. "One of the things that we were interested in was saving gas," explains dale Erving, "but it wasn't the only thing. We like the size of the car, the interior space of the car, and the technology of the car." The Erving's Prius is equipped with a navigation system and new smart-key technology. With the smart key in the owner's pocket, the car knows to unlock. It will only unlock the driver's door, unless the owner walks up to a passenger door, in which case it will unlock all of them. Both the Ervings and Renee Nelson paid about $4,000 to $5,000 more for their hybrids than they would have had they bought conventional gasoline-powered cars, But a tax deduction allows them to write off $2,000 dollars on this year's and next years returns. If you're hoping to buy a hybrid, a Honda dealership may be more likely to have a civic on the lot. Any others, you might be in for a wait, up to a few months. Car makers are only producing a few at a time, for now. "It's ok to get everyone excited about it, but i mean I'd much rather have a customer come in, we could order the vehicle so we have the vehicle the way they would like it, with the correct options," said Kerth of precision Toyota, "and in one week or 2 weeks, we have the car here." If you're waiting for an American make hybrid, Ford is set to deliver it's Escape, but it won't make it to Arizona until the year's end. Still, owners insist it's worth the wait. "It's like I made this big jump ahead in time," said Erving. SOURCE: KOLD | ||
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