tigerhonaker
04-30-2006, 09:30 PM
Posted on Sunday, April 30, 2006
OUT OF THE RED
Hybrids not just about mileage
Those interested in a green car need to look beyond gas savings:
AMY BALDWIN
abaldwin@charlotteobserver.com
When assigned a story on hybrid cars -- what's on the market and what's coming and when -- I groaned. I'm not a car person.
My editor remarked on the irony of that statement from someone from an auto family. True, my father is a retired automaker, a General Motors millwright. But that doesn't mean I like cars. I barely like to drive and I'm not sure why that is.
Still, the hybrid assignment wasn't going away -- just like $3-gallon-gas, it seems. I did some research, because I knew little about hybrid cars other than they pair electric motors and gas engines to lower fuel consumption and emissions -- and that they're pricier than their all-gas counterparts. I'd heard of the Toyota Prius but was surprised to learn about all the other hybrids out there or in the works.
I found out that hybrids generally get better mileage in the city than on the highway, because the battery is recharged when the brakes are applied and the gas engine runs less around town. I think the extent to which the battery is recharged varies by maker, and if I were buying I'd make sure to understand how that works.
I visited some car dealerships and phoned others to come up with a selective list of hybrids -- what's out, what's coming out -- and prices. Take a look.
• Toyota: The hybrid heavyweight launched its first hybrid, the compact Prius, in Japan in 1997 and after some upgrades launched it in the United States in 2000. It's a popular seller at Town and Country Toyota in Charlotte, said Shahzadd Khan, a sales and leasing consultant there.
"There is not a single Prius available for test drive, it is so hot," Khan said.
Customers must wait 30-90 days for a Prius, which has a base sticker price of $22,000, he said. The Prius is only a hybrid, meaning there is no all-gas version. The Prius is rated at 60 miles to the gallon in the city and 52 miles per gallon on the highway, Shahzadd said. (Typically, drivers get lower mileage than the EPA estimates.)
Shahzadd also said the dealership expects to have the first Camry hybrids in stock in May and Sienna mini-van hybrids "hopefully" in September. The base price on the Camry hybrid will be about $25,000 compared with $20,175 on the regular model, he said. He wasn't sure what the base price on the Sienna will be.
Toyota also has a hybrid version of the Highlander sport utility vehicle, which has a base price of $33,030, according to the company's Web site, www.toyota.com (http://www.toyota.com). The base price on the standard Highlander is $24,530.
Because hybrids are still relatively new to the market, Toyota offers eight-year or 200,000-mile warranties, Khan said. Lastly, Toyota plans to have hybrid versions of its entire fleet by 2010, he said.
• Honda: Hendrick Honda in Charlotte has hybrid versions of the Civic and Accord in stock, said Greg Jones, a salesperson there. He says about 20 percent of the dealership's new car buyers drive off in a hybrid.
Mileage lowdown: The Civic gets 55 miles per gallon in the city or on the highway, Jones said. The Accord gets 36 miles per gallon on the highway and 32 miles per gallon in the city.
Prices: The Civic and Accord hybrid models cost about $4,000 more than their standard counterparts. Base price on the hybrid Civic is about $22,000 and on the hybrid Accord it's about $33,000.
Hendrick Honda doesn't have the Insight, a two-door hatchback available only in hybrid, Jones said.
• Chevrolet: At Diamond Chevrolet in Charlotte, sales manager Jeremy Price said he hardly ever gets asked about hybrids. The dealership doesn't have any on its lot.
"When I worked for Toyota for five years, I did," he said.
Price said he thinks hybrid versions of the Malibu sedan and Tahoe SUV will be out in 2008. But according to Web site hybridcars.com, both models are due out next year.
Chevy has a hybrid version of its Silverado pickup. It has a simpler hybrid system than that of the Prius or Accord, which yields a smaller boost to fuel economy -- about 10 to 15 percent, according to the company's Web site, www.chevrolet.com (http://www.chevrolet.com). The sticker price on a hybrid Silverado with two-wheel drive and an eight-cylinder engine is $29,528, while a comparable non-hybrid model goes for about $23,875, according to the Web site.
• Nissan: "Everyone is always wanting to know when we will have a hybrid," said Greg Davies, new car sales manager at Superior Nissan in Charlotte. So, when?
Davies said he thinks the Nissan Altima hybrid model will be out next year. Hybridcars.com pegs it at sometime this year.
Davies didn't know how the hybrid Altima will be priced but said the base price on an all-gas Altima with automatic transmission is $19,500.
• Dodge: The brand's first hybrid version -- of the Durango SUV -- will be available in 2008, according to its Web site, dodge.com. The Web site touts 25 percent fuel economy. Hybridcars.com says the Dodge Ram is due out in 2006 and the Dodge Durango next year. But Marcus Simpson, sales and leasing associate at Keffer Dodge, says the dealership doesn't have any hybrid models and doesn't know when it will.
"They haven't given us any information as of yet," Simpson said.
• Ford: The hybrid version of the Escape SUV is available now, according to the company's Web site, www.ford.com (http://www.ford.com). The hybrid Escape on average gets 36 miles per gallon in the city and 31 miles per gallon on the highway, according to the Web site. Base price for a four-wheel drive hybrid is $29,140, compared with $20,685 for the standard four-wheel drive all-gas set of wheels.
• Mercury: The hybrid version of the Mariner SUV (Mercury's version of the Escape) is available now with a sticker price of $29,840, according to www.mercuryvehicles.com (http://www.mercuryvehicles.com). Fuel efficiency, according to the Web site: 33 miles per gallon in the city and 29 miles per gallon on the highway.
The base price on the regular Mariner, according to the site, is $21,380.
The big question about hybrids is how economical they really are for consumers. Because hybrid models typically cost thousands more than their gas counterparts, it can take years before any savings at the gas pump kick in. That's why I think if you want to buy a hybrid car now, your decision should be about more than saving money -- perhaps about wanting to help protect the environment or reduce reliance on foreign oil.
When figuring the price difference between a conventional and hybrid vehicle, keep in mind there are one-time tax credits for the green vehicles. For more info, go to www.irs.gov (http://www.irs.gov) and type "hybrid tax credits" into the search feature.
Amy
Baldwin Amy
Baldwin
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/business/14464398.htm
OUT OF THE RED
Hybrids not just about mileage
Those interested in a green car need to look beyond gas savings:
AMY BALDWIN
abaldwin@charlotteobserver.com
When assigned a story on hybrid cars -- what's on the market and what's coming and when -- I groaned. I'm not a car person.
My editor remarked on the irony of that statement from someone from an auto family. True, my father is a retired automaker, a General Motors millwright. But that doesn't mean I like cars. I barely like to drive and I'm not sure why that is.
Still, the hybrid assignment wasn't going away -- just like $3-gallon-gas, it seems. I did some research, because I knew little about hybrid cars other than they pair electric motors and gas engines to lower fuel consumption and emissions -- and that they're pricier than their all-gas counterparts. I'd heard of the Toyota Prius but was surprised to learn about all the other hybrids out there or in the works.
I found out that hybrids generally get better mileage in the city than on the highway, because the battery is recharged when the brakes are applied and the gas engine runs less around town. I think the extent to which the battery is recharged varies by maker, and if I were buying I'd make sure to understand how that works.
I visited some car dealerships and phoned others to come up with a selective list of hybrids -- what's out, what's coming out -- and prices. Take a look.
• Toyota: The hybrid heavyweight launched its first hybrid, the compact Prius, in Japan in 1997 and after some upgrades launched it in the United States in 2000. It's a popular seller at Town and Country Toyota in Charlotte, said Shahzadd Khan, a sales and leasing consultant there.
"There is not a single Prius available for test drive, it is so hot," Khan said.
Customers must wait 30-90 days for a Prius, which has a base sticker price of $22,000, he said. The Prius is only a hybrid, meaning there is no all-gas version. The Prius is rated at 60 miles to the gallon in the city and 52 miles per gallon on the highway, Shahzadd said. (Typically, drivers get lower mileage than the EPA estimates.)
Shahzadd also said the dealership expects to have the first Camry hybrids in stock in May and Sienna mini-van hybrids "hopefully" in September. The base price on the Camry hybrid will be about $25,000 compared with $20,175 on the regular model, he said. He wasn't sure what the base price on the Sienna will be.
Toyota also has a hybrid version of the Highlander sport utility vehicle, which has a base price of $33,030, according to the company's Web site, www.toyota.com (http://www.toyota.com). The base price on the standard Highlander is $24,530.
Because hybrids are still relatively new to the market, Toyota offers eight-year or 200,000-mile warranties, Khan said. Lastly, Toyota plans to have hybrid versions of its entire fleet by 2010, he said.
• Honda: Hendrick Honda in Charlotte has hybrid versions of the Civic and Accord in stock, said Greg Jones, a salesperson there. He says about 20 percent of the dealership's new car buyers drive off in a hybrid.
Mileage lowdown: The Civic gets 55 miles per gallon in the city or on the highway, Jones said. The Accord gets 36 miles per gallon on the highway and 32 miles per gallon in the city.
Prices: The Civic and Accord hybrid models cost about $4,000 more than their standard counterparts. Base price on the hybrid Civic is about $22,000 and on the hybrid Accord it's about $33,000.
Hendrick Honda doesn't have the Insight, a two-door hatchback available only in hybrid, Jones said.
• Chevrolet: At Diamond Chevrolet in Charlotte, sales manager Jeremy Price said he hardly ever gets asked about hybrids. The dealership doesn't have any on its lot.
"When I worked for Toyota for five years, I did," he said.
Price said he thinks hybrid versions of the Malibu sedan and Tahoe SUV will be out in 2008. But according to Web site hybridcars.com, both models are due out next year.
Chevy has a hybrid version of its Silverado pickup. It has a simpler hybrid system than that of the Prius or Accord, which yields a smaller boost to fuel economy -- about 10 to 15 percent, according to the company's Web site, www.chevrolet.com (http://www.chevrolet.com). The sticker price on a hybrid Silverado with two-wheel drive and an eight-cylinder engine is $29,528, while a comparable non-hybrid model goes for about $23,875, according to the Web site.
• Nissan: "Everyone is always wanting to know when we will have a hybrid," said Greg Davies, new car sales manager at Superior Nissan in Charlotte. So, when?
Davies said he thinks the Nissan Altima hybrid model will be out next year. Hybridcars.com pegs it at sometime this year.
Davies didn't know how the hybrid Altima will be priced but said the base price on an all-gas Altima with automatic transmission is $19,500.
• Dodge: The brand's first hybrid version -- of the Durango SUV -- will be available in 2008, according to its Web site, dodge.com. The Web site touts 25 percent fuel economy. Hybridcars.com says the Dodge Ram is due out in 2006 and the Dodge Durango next year. But Marcus Simpson, sales and leasing associate at Keffer Dodge, says the dealership doesn't have any hybrid models and doesn't know when it will.
"They haven't given us any information as of yet," Simpson said.
• Ford: The hybrid version of the Escape SUV is available now, according to the company's Web site, www.ford.com (http://www.ford.com). The hybrid Escape on average gets 36 miles per gallon in the city and 31 miles per gallon on the highway, according to the Web site. Base price for a four-wheel drive hybrid is $29,140, compared with $20,685 for the standard four-wheel drive all-gas set of wheels.
• Mercury: The hybrid version of the Mariner SUV (Mercury's version of the Escape) is available now with a sticker price of $29,840, according to www.mercuryvehicles.com (http://www.mercuryvehicles.com). Fuel efficiency, according to the Web site: 33 miles per gallon in the city and 29 miles per gallon on the highway.
The base price on the regular Mariner, according to the site, is $21,380.
The big question about hybrids is how economical they really are for consumers. Because hybrid models typically cost thousands more than their gas counterparts, it can take years before any savings at the gas pump kick in. That's why I think if you want to buy a hybrid car now, your decision should be about more than saving money -- perhaps about wanting to help protect the environment or reduce reliance on foreign oil.
When figuring the price difference between a conventional and hybrid vehicle, keep in mind there are one-time tax credits for the green vehicles. For more info, go to www.irs.gov (http://www.irs.gov) and type "hybrid tax credits" into the search feature.
Amy
Baldwin Amy
Baldwin
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/business/14464398.htm