Hybrids Are So 2005 – Or Are They?

We’ve all heard about how the hybrid engine is going to change the world as we know it in terms of automobile fuel efficiency. Those of us who are rooting for Mother Nature naturally look favourably upon any improvement on fossil fuel consumption rates and pollution reduction. But for anyone looking at buying a hybrid today it is important to look at all the factors, not just the LC-factors (Leonardo DiCaprio factors: many people seem to think movie stars are smarter than the rest of us and when one of them starts advocating new technology we follow like sheep).

Here’s an interesting article on purchasing a hybrid in late 2005 versus an economy car. The conclusion points out that, in terms of money, you pay more for the hybrid even with the increased fuel economy (assuming you even get what the car manufacturers advertise).

While no “green” person would ever advocate buying a hybrid for purely economic reasons, it is painfully obvious that existing hybrids lack the ability to make up for their steep prices with gas savings. While a hybrid would present significant savings over something like a new Ford Super Duty, you would always save more with any of a number of economy cars.

Hybrid technology is just entering the mainstream, however. As gas prices rise and hybrid technology improves and cheapens, don’t be surprised to find hybrid owners in the green.

Of course as gas prices go up these calculations will change, but it certainly points out that the picture is not as clear as many people think it is. The article also mentions replacing the car’s battery every 8-10 years – I’m not really sure if there has been an analysis of the environmental impact of making and destroying all those batteries yet.

The optimists in us look forward to the days of cars powered by hydrogen. The realists (hello engineers!) look forward to refining the existing technology. Just look at what the UBC engineers can do with existing gasoline-powered engines: a trip from Vancouver to Halifax on a gallon gas!

So hybrid technology is slowly becoming mainstream and is improving because of it. As it matures we’ll see costs drop and parts/repairs start to cost the same as combustion engines. It’s nice to see an alternative in the market – I just hope the LC-factors don’t lead us down the wrong path. Thanks to the engineers in the world who refuse to give up so quickly on something we’ve taken for granted for so long. Did I just call engineers stubborn?