Have you hugged a Hummer lately

[Pablo1669]

This is a great article once again proving the over hype, and total uselessness of hybrid vehicles, and the general ignorance of the hybrid buyer/environmentalist populationhttp://www.reason.org/commenta...shtml

[Katscan]

Nice article Another thing that Hybrid owners have to consider are maintenance costs of their vehicle. They will not be able to take it to any garage they want if there is a probelm with the engine, remeber they have 2 engines packed into that compact car. There are a lot more moving parts in those things than a normal gas powered vehicle. I had thought about getting a hybrid at one time but the thought of maintenance costs and that it does cost a whole heck of a lot more made me reconsider.

[slvrvibes]

That is a good article. I also considered a hybrid, but the cost of purchase and cost of maintenance quickly discouraged me and I got a Vibe instead.

[Atomb]

i'm coming to realize that hybrids are going to fall into a 'fine tune' mode in our future....first we need to get people to start thinking fuel economy through smaller vehicles and changes in driving style...once we get that, then we look at hybrids to push us even closer to the cutting edge. Maybe by then the hybrid technology will be closer to perfection too...but to start, we can drastically reduce the demand for fuel (and traffic congestion) just by switching to smaller vehicles with better gas milage. Do you really need a suburban/hummer/expedition to bring your 2.3 kids to school or buy a carton of milk?

[Cougar Vibe]

No offense, but I'd like to see that piece published by a more mainstream, less-biased website. Mind you, I'm not doubting the article on it's face, but after clicking around on other stories there, it becomes obvious they have a fairly one-sided agenda. I mean, "The Reason Foundation?" Come on...the only thing missing is the obligatory word "Family" to tell you what angle they're pushing.But as far as the real-world numbers for the Prius and Civic HB, that's not really news. People have been griping about it since day one. You drive a Prius because you want to make a statement, just like you do with a Hummer or LS-1 or M635i or S8. How is it anymore rediculous to drive a Hybrid and say it's about the environment than it is to buy an Corvette and say it's about the performance? The speed limit is still 70mph, the cops will still take your license for "spirited driving" and the average age of Corvette buyers is not exactly at the optimal age of "performance." And when was the last time you saw a Hummer that wasn't waxed and covered in cheesy chrome accents? Trail rated? Pfff...pail rated, as in "washed, waxed and ready to be trailered." Seriously, there are people getting 41mpg with 5-spd Corolla CE's...for what, $10k less than a Prius? Now imagine if you could put Prius sheet metal on a Corolla drive-train/platform: You might get 45+ mpg with no worrisome hybrid mechanicals. But that's not going to happen, is it? Thus, we're stuck with no real alternatives (new diesels don't arrive until '08) , American car companies that build cars we don't want and gas prices that will escalate to $5 a gallon within five years (thank you China and Walmart!). BTW: Do you think Ford is in worse financial trouble because of the $2k-3k they lose on hybrids or because of the F-150's, Explorers and Expeditions they can't give away as of late? With regards to the financials, Hybrid losses are a drop in the bucket and aren't really the problem... Cougar Vibe