Comments on: Luxury Hybrid Category Gets Crowded

By: tapra2

tapra2 — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 06:18:21 +0000

The other S-Class models move up in price toward Tesla territory and beyond. That renders the impact of an all hybrid Mercedes segment as mostly symbolic—until Mercedes goes all hybrid for the relatively proletariat E or C classes.Top UK Hosting

By: Lin

Lin — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 04:19:38 +0000

I truly love the price and mileage of the Lincoln. However, I can’t stand the body. It’s better but not good enough. Still looks like an old person’s car and I’m 62 yrs. old/young. Doesn’t look as slick as others. If the body style improves for 2013, I will definitely be buying a Lincoln.

By: iBidHybrid.com

iBidHybrid.com — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 09:55:09 +0000

KissMyHybrid site has pictures of a BMW 7 Series Hybrid. I dont know if its real or not, but it looks just a regular 7 Series model.

By: Roy S.

Roy S. — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 11:36:02 +0000

What we shouldn’t miss is the importance of the Hyundai Sonata. It has two features which are notable. It has a minimum of components which make it a hybrid. An electric motor, a DC/AC converter and a batttery. Except for the battery we can assume that the cost of the other two items will drastically decline in cost as time goes by and is already offset by the elimination of the torque converter and the lack of a continuously variable transmission. The battery is a polymer based battery which permits large reductions in weight and improved performance. In other words, the hybrid train is headed for lower costs and improved performance. With a slight improvement in the Sonata battery and therefore a larger electric motor, it will not be too long before the transmission as well as the torque converter is eliminated. In five to ten years we will probably be looking at a cost premium of about $1,500-$2,000 as well as improved MPG.

By: John K.

John K. — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 00:11:34 +0000

I should also have mentioned how even if *every* car or truck sold this year and the following years was a hybrid (which ain’t happening), I’m guessing it would take about 5 – 10 yrs for them to make up 25% of the cars and trucks on America’s roads. Only a small fraction of all the cars-trucks on the road are replaced in any one year. I’m sure someone can search for the actual numbers. Don’t mean to be pessimistic. Just being realistic. We probably won’t come close to energy independence regarding personal transportation until the mid-2020s.

By: John K.

John K. — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 15:34:55 +0000

Ford's next new hybrid should be a Taurus. They've got the excellent Fusion hybrid to cover smaller sedan segment of the market, they've got the Escape hybrid to cover the small SUV segment, and I've read that they're coming out w/a Focus EV before 2012. A Taurus hybrid (and later a hybrid full size SUV), will put Ford in an strong position as gas prices once again increase as the economy recovers.

Nelson Lu: hybrid and EV enthusiasts are, even now 2 yrs after the most recent gas crisis, a fringe group in America. Total hybrid sales, which are broken down by make and model on this site monthly, are still only a drop in the bucket of total US automotive sales (cars and trucks/SUVs). The Volt, Leaf, and Aptera will do nothing on their own to change that. Compare the sales numbers of the excellent Fusion hybrid to the sales of all non-hybrid Fusion models.

Rough guess: Expect hybrid sales to slowly but steadily increase from a minor fraction of total sales in 2010 to a significant fraction by 2015. Expect plug-in hybrids to do the same from 2015 (when NiMH goes off patent protection) to 2020 and EVs to follow that starting in 2020. Sure there will be plug-ins (Volt) and EVs (Leaf) this year, but I'm talking about when these vehicles will make up a significant fraction of total US auto sales and start having a significant impact on America's dependence on foreign oil.

Note well that these initial offerings can have a significant impact on your personal dependence upon oil if you are an early adopter.

By: Nelson Lu

Nelson Lu — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:17:50 +0000

I will also say that I find it odd that the article implies that the Fusion Hybrid is a "niche product," when it has been outselling the Camry Hybrid and, in some months, was outselling the Insight. If the 2nd/3rd best-selling hybrid is a niche product, what does that make all of the others?

By: Nelson Lu

Nelson Lu — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:13:32 +0000

Redbeard, hybrid != Toyota.

Full-size hybrid pickup trucks already exist. Check out Chevrolet and GMC products. While they're hefty in price, the provide real gas savings.

By: Achilles

Achilles — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 13:41:36 +0000

Most innovations in all industries enter at the top of their markets. If the novelty appeals to the rich, then major cost-reduction efforts are applied to push them down into the mass market, with aspirations doing the pulling.

Think of a new dress fabric. It will probably show up first in a $6000 frock on a Paris catwalk. A few years later it's available at Walmart, for $50.

Hybrids were an exception to this general rule, with Toyota prepared to use its massive financial and marketing resources to drive the Prius 'sideways' into the middle of the market, very successfully. Hybrid game on!

Now normality has returned, with most other manufacturers making relatively modest, and less risky, investments at the top of their ranges. There is already little doubt that hybrids of various types will come to dominate sales beyond 2010 in the automotive mass market. The remaining key questions are plug-in or not, fuel cell or ICE, what share for BEVs at the bottom of the market, and how the mix of these will vary over time from country to country and region to region. The answers to these questions will evolve as the technologies improve, but we can already be certain that hybrids will be driven deep into the mass market globally, judging by the scale of the efforts that are currently in place.

If expensive hybrids sell well, cheaper ones will follow, and quite soon - twas ever thus. So tell your rich friends to buy expensive hybrids and help subsidize developments for the mass market. It's their duty!

By: Mr. Fusion

Mr. Fusion — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 13:16:51 +0000

Yegor: I agree. Seems like the hybrids are trickling in from the fringes of the car market. They have the small and the expensive sides covered, now it's time for the rest of us.

How about a pickup truck, Toyota?!
Show me a hybrid Tacoma, or even better, a Tundra, and I will be first in line to sign up.