The hybrid survey is kind of like New Year's Resolutions: a lot of good intentions, but fewer commitments.

 

Maybe somewhat true, but also think about the fact that people may be interested, but their current car doesn't need replacing just yet, so their commitment is in the future when they are looking for a new car. Contrary to what the ads tell us to do (buy constantly) some people do only buy a new car when they need one, and when they choose a car, they make sure it's reliable enough to keep for a relatively long time. The adoption rate curve is going to be quite steep, especially as more models get hybrid power as an option.

 

Actually, the presentation of the data was even more biased than you mention, and on closer inspection, your (a) conclusion cannot be justified . There were three choices (inexact language):

Would you consider a hybrid for your next car purchase ?
1. yes
2. not without more information
3. no

answers (2) and (3) were combined. "I don't know enough" is clearly not the same as "I know enough to say no".

This is a tried and true way to have polls reach the wanted conclusion. Ask ambiguous questions, and combine sub-groups in a non-valid fashion. The good news is, the poll was so inane from the onset, only the person who paid for it will care about the results.

Welcome to pseudoscience. Works for the Whitehouse, works for marketing. To a degree, anyway.

 

To paraphrase Benjamin Disraeli:

"There are lies, d*** lies, statistics, and surveys"