Why Hybrids will not replace Gasoline Engines

Few people care about the environment; their pocketbook is the primary concern for most. As long as manufacturers overcharge for hybrids, they will never sell! For example some car companies cannot sell a hybrid unless it is overpriced with every luxury option imaginable, including a GPS. Options are not really optional since you do not have a choice in the matter; hybrids are too high in demand.

What about gas savings? If you save $10 a week on a hybrid compared to a similar sized car, that is approximately $500 a year. It would take a decade to save $5000 on a car that is overpriced by $6000. the consumer will never break even during the life of the car negating its cost effectiveness. So what about drivers that save more than $10 a week since they drive significantly more? They will wear the car out faster and need a new car before the decade, paying again for an overpriced vehicle.

Consider that the Subaru 360 was produced in 1958 and sat four passengers. The car also got 66 mpg! It was cramped and slow, but you would expect over half a century of technology should have rectified those issues. The car also utilized a 2 stroke motor which does not burn as clean as 4 strokes since the oil is mixed with the gas. Again, 50 years of research should allow for a similar sized engine producing the same power (or more). This car also raises an important issue: vehicle weight. The Subaru 360 was half a ton compared to a compact today which is three times heavier and seats the same number of people. As a society, we demand many things from a car and fill it with gadgets that are sometimes unnecessary. These extra gadgets make a car so bloated, that half the fuel you consume is for the sole purpose of moving all the extra technology around. Therefore, the technology cancels itself out when it comes to gas savings.

Simpler cars. Keep safety and air conditioning and get rid of the 200lbs of carpeting and mats. Do you really need power 'everything' at the expense of the environment and your pocket book? Force auto makers to stop providing the false notion that SUV's are safe. A station wagon from the 1970s has as much space as an SUV and uses the same technology to achieve better gas mileage (better aerodynamics). More importantly, it is safer since it does not flip over as easily! If the big 3 auto makers want to prevent bankruptcy, then they need to produce a light, simple, sleek, aerodynamic wagon that maintains safety to replace the SUV (and do NOT call it a cross-over because people are not that stupid and obviously improve the quality as well).

We need hybrids, just simpler ones instead of today's options with GPS and half a ton of unnecessary gadgets. And why not throw in a few solar panels to further the gas mileage?