A post last week about Greengirl’s new Prius prompted a little discussion about the merits of hybrid vehicles (click here). A few days later, one of Roadguy’s many alert readers named Mike e-mailed with some thoughts on the matter:

Getting already small-car drivers into small hybrid cars isn’t as beneficial to society as getting low m.p.g. cars to be a little bit better. If you think about it, most hybrid drivers were already using relatively efficient vehicles anyway.

He then made an interesting mathematical point. Imagine, if you will, a car owner who drives 15,000 miles in the first year (a little above average, but not too crazy), then switches vehicles and drives another 15,000 miles the next year. According to Mike, here’s how much fuel would be saved:

• Switching from a 30 m.p.g. vehicle to a 50 m.p.g. vehicle would save 200 gallons
• Switching from a 15 m.p.g. vehicle to a 20 m.p.g. vehicle would save 250 gallons

So a 5-mile-per-gallon improvement can save more than a 20-mile-per-gallon improvement? With my faint recollection of eighth-grade algebra and my trusty one-dollar calculator from Ikea, I’m pretty sure that Mike’s math is correct. (I’m also pretty sure that someone will tell me if I’m wrong.) Mike went on to say:

As much as we like to vilify low efficiency and the like, I don’t think we can ignore the truck, minivan, and SUV market — people aren’t going to change their lifestyles that radically. Hybrids in these categories make more sense, as much as they defy initial logic (or smugness). There is a lot of variation within a vehicle class, and making better choices can help reduce that darned foreign oil that everyone hates so much.

As Greengirl pointed out, hybrid buyers look at financial factors beyond fuel costs (such as tax breaks and resale value). I’ve flirted with the hybrid idea myself, and it wouldn’t make much sense for me — I have a small, debt-free car, a four-mile commute, and some pretty modest gasoline bills.

So it seems that Mike has a point about the potential benefits and marketability of larger hybrid vehicles — especially in Minnesota. With snow-covered gravel roads to traverse, youth hockey teams to haul around, and boats to bring up to the lake, most drivers accustomed to large vehicles aren’t ever going to jump for joy over a Prius. And manufacturers have started to take notice.

Your turn — plug in your hybrid thoughts below. (Bonus question: Some states allow hybrid vehicles with only one occupant to use carpool/HOV lanes, at no charge. Should Minnesota?)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007 at 6:05 am and is filed under Transportation conversations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.