Vantage Road Study: Hybrid Cars... may not be so friendly on the environment and on your pocket
Nowadays, when we hear that someones driving a hybrid car, we may think, wow, this dude's conscious about the environment, oil prices and CO2 emissions, but that may not necessarily be true according to a recent study done in the US of A. Yes, a simple side by side comparison between hybrids, diesels and gas powered cars will show you that the hybrid is more efficient on a mile to mile basis, BUT it seems that according to the study by Quality Planning, hybrid owners drive more than non-hybrid owners which may negate all the benefits of having a hybrid in the first place.
Some may be thinking, what kind of study these guys at Quality Planning do? Well, they tested over 360,000 cars through 2007 and 2008 and analyzed their driving habits which yielded a pretty interesting result. According to the survey, hybrid and non-hybrid drivers have statistically similar commutes, but hybrid owners drive their vehicles 25% more (2,000 miles) in non-commuting scenarios.
Dr. Raj Bhat, president of Quality Planning, thinks part of the reason for these findings has something to do with the fact that high mileage drivers are typically more interested in hybrids than infrequent drivers.
"What we don't know is whether owning a hybrid vehicle encourages people to drive more miles each day or take more pleasure trips. High-mileage drivers appear to be attracted to these vehicles, so insurers should take steps to verify the intended use of hybrids and validate actual miles driven wherever possible."
The study also shows that hybrid owners are significantly more likely to receive traffic tickets. According to the survey, Toyota Prius owners received .38 tickets per 100,000 miles driven, versus a non-hybrid average of .23 tickets per 100,000 miles. That's a 65% differential. One possible explanation for the ticket disparity has to do with where hybrid owners live. Quality Planning found that hybrid owners are more likely to live in an urban setting, where tickets are more frequently issued.
Though not much of those have much bearing in the Philippines because first, the ones who have cars aren't likely to commute at all and cops, we just run away from. But here's where it gets good... HYBRIDS COST SIGNIFICANTLY MORE TO REPAIR! The Ford Escape Hybrid, for example, costs 31% more to repair than the gasoline-only model, while repairing the Toyota Highlander Hybrid will reportedly add 45% more cost!
This doesn't look good for hybrids. Especially with Toyota Philippines bringing in the Prius, MAN, to anyone who knows their cars, thats definitely a bad move. As the study shows, they cost more to fix, and coincidentally, cars in the Philippines tend to suffer wear and tear faster than developed countries. And with its P2M+ price tag, anyone in their right mind would buy something else because we've learned that hybrids just aren't that efficient once you look deeper than the sugar coated numbers they show you. My advice, just buy a car that you really want. Don't settle for a crappy looking Prius just because you feel pressured to save the environment. Screw hybrids and use as much gas as you can while supplies last! Lets not forget, a Prius actually is more environmentally damaging than a Hummer H2! Why? Because no one considers where & how the "fuel" for the hybrid is processed/coming from... AH-HA!
Some may be thinking, what kind of study these guys at Quality Planning do? Well, they tested over 360,000 cars through 2007 and 2008 and analyzed their driving habits which yielded a pretty interesting result. According to the survey, hybrid and non-hybrid drivers have statistically similar commutes, but hybrid owners drive their vehicles 25% more (2,000 miles) in non-commuting scenarios.
Dr. Raj Bhat, president of Quality Planning, thinks part of the reason for these findings has something to do with the fact that high mileage drivers are typically more interested in hybrids than infrequent drivers.
"What we don't know is whether owning a hybrid vehicle encourages people to drive more miles each day or take more pleasure trips. High-mileage drivers appear to be attracted to these vehicles, so insurers should take steps to verify the intended use of hybrids and validate actual miles driven wherever possible."
The study also shows that hybrid owners are significantly more likely to receive traffic tickets. According to the survey, Toyota Prius owners received .38 tickets per 100,000 miles driven, versus a non-hybrid average of .23 tickets per 100,000 miles. That's a 65% differential. One possible explanation for the ticket disparity has to do with where hybrid owners live. Quality Planning found that hybrid owners are more likely to live in an urban setting, where tickets are more frequently issued.
Though not much of those have much bearing in the Philippines because first, the ones who have cars aren't likely to commute at all and cops, we just run away from. But here's where it gets good... HYBRIDS COST SIGNIFICANTLY MORE TO REPAIR! The Ford Escape Hybrid, for example, costs 31% more to repair than the gasoline-only model, while repairing the Toyota Highlander Hybrid will reportedly add 45% more cost!
This doesn't look good for hybrids. Especially with Toyota Philippines bringing in the Prius, MAN, to anyone who knows their cars, thats definitely a bad move. As the study shows, they cost more to fix, and coincidentally, cars in the Philippines tend to suffer wear and tear faster than developed countries. And with its P2M+ price tag, anyone in their right mind would buy something else because we've learned that hybrids just aren't that efficient once you look deeper than the sugar coated numbers they show you. My advice, just buy a car that you really want. Don't settle for a crappy looking Prius just because you feel pressured to save the environment. Screw hybrids and use as much gas as you can while supplies last! Lets not forget, a Prius actually is more environmentally damaging than a Hummer H2! Why? Because no one considers where & how the "fuel" for the hybrid is processed/coming from... AH-HA!
0 comments:
Post a Comment