http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech...moke_on_hy.htm

It is a curious investment that beats a dead horse. I remember the day I got out of my car to walk into my GE plant, disgusted with the wasted, IR&D money being spent on 'logistics standards software.' I was disgusted because the standard was already defined and nothing we were doing was anything beyond 'buying from the catalog' and wasting a huge amount of labor reinventing the wheel. I stopped, looked at the building, and realized my time with GE had come to a close. You don't spend your "lookin' forward budget," lookin' back. As for ethenol, Henry Ford had already done that experiment in the early 1900s.

Then comes Rick's definition of "hybrids haven't lived up to the hype anyway" defined as the buy ratio of car shoppers coming to the lot . . . a lot that already has a supply limited inventory, often a backlog waiting list. Granted, Rick didn't call Toyota or even the local dealers to ask. He didn't try to buy a hybrid and remains curiously ignorant about the obstacles buyers find at the local dealership, the absence of Prius remaining unsold on the lot or how Honda had made buying an Insight a nightmare. Another lazy journalist hack job.

So how do we solve this problem? A letter to the editor comes to mind just stating the facts and data.

Bob Wilson

ps. How did I find this article, a Google news search for "CNW Marketing". Am I picking on them, no, just noticing a trend that whenever b*llsh*t about hybrids is needed, "CNW Marketing" is there.

 

It isn't really clear to me why Toyota or Honda would want or need to "play catchup" to US automakers with ethanol/alterna-fuel vehicles at this point as the hybrids are selling so incredibly well. Maybe I just don't understand marketing.

 

I agree that this guy is not telling the whole story but I do believe the numbers. I've had many people ask me about my hybrid when they are shopping for a new car/truck/SUV. They all say that they are interested in getting a hybrid but none has so far. The lot at work will end up with some gas guzzler every time. I always ask em why they didn't get a hybrid and the list of excuses is soooooo lame. These stupid reporters just add fuel to the lame excuse fire.

A friend of mine was just babbling something about a 7 year hybrid payback not being worth it yet he is looking at a $2500 bottom freezer french door fridge because "it is more energy efficient". I wonder what the payback time is on a $2500 fridge? A normal fridge costs about $400 and you can get really nice ones for under a grand.....

Maybe Kafka should do a report on fancy overpriced french door fridges?

 

Hey who wrote that thing? Newman or Kafka?

 

There is a difference?

Bob Wilson

 

Walk into a Mercedes dealer and it will take about 30 seconds to figure out why 80% of Mercedes shoppers end up with one: it's because 80% of Mercedes shoppers are either replacing the two year old Mercedes with a newer model, or the proverbial ship just came in and it's finally time to buy the first. In other words, buying a Mercedes isn't an economic decision in the least. He may as well have said "While only 3% of hybrid shoppers actually go home with one, 80% of people who like hamburgers also use ketchup on their fries."

 

It will be interesting to check some of these articles in about five years. Don't you think it might read something like: "While Detroit pretended to be green, Toyota and Honda, started and built the hybrid market...". The public is slowly (too slowly if you ask me) choosing somewhat more fuel-efficient vehicles. It will increase if there is a recession or gas prices jump. While some people have deep pockets and not change a thing, rising debt is going to chip at the people that still have gas-guzzlers.

 

I have no idea if this will do any good but I sent this to US News and World Report:

"Sirs,

Rick Newman's July 3, 2006 article, "Detroit blows more smoke on hybrids" reports that ". . . hybrids haven't lived up to the hype anyway." And then he goes on to describe a seller's market, ". . . only 6 percent of car shoppers who start out considering a hybrid actually buy one" because the seller's have a short supply.

Hybrid buyers are faced with a lack of available hybrids on the dealer lots. A quick call to many Toyota dealer's will reveal a waiting list and markups of thousands of dollars over the MSRP. Certainly that was true in Huntsville AL where last year, the local Toyota dealer added $4,500 on top of the MSRP and that was to get on a waiting list. As for Ford, they excluded the Escape hybrid from their "family pricing" program last year.

No, the only problem hybrid vendors have is making enough to meet demand. It is a nice problem of a car manufacturer to have. The only smoke in the article comes from the analysts who gave Rick the misleading quotes, which he didn't confirm by calling the hybrid dealers."

Bob Wilson