This has shocked the NY Times
Hybrid Cars, Once Derided and Dismissed, Have Become Popular
There are a lot of things Sarah Martens likes about the 2025 Toyota Highlander hybrid she bought a few months ago. Its pearlescent white paint shimmers in the sunlight. It has lots of safety features. And for a large sport utility vehicle, it sips gasoline, getting nearly 30 miles per gallon at times.
But the thing she likes most: It doesn’t feel like a hybrid.
“It’s so smooth,” said Ms. Martens, a Pilates instructor in Ann Arbor, Mich. “When it starts off from a stoplight or switches from electric to gas, I can’t tell I’m driving a hybrid. It just seems like I’m driving a normal car.”
Not so long ago, it seemed that the heyday of hybrids had come and gone. As Tesla and the potential of electric vehicles grabbed the imaginations of drivers and automakers, hybrids appeared destined to be remembered as an interim step on the way toward a fully electric, emissions-free future.
Look, there are a bunch of reasons hybrids are doing well: one is that so much of fleets, especially Toyota and Honda, are hybrid. And they are not that much more expensive than a straight gas car. And, as mentioned above, you can’t really tell the difference. I drove an Accord then a Civic, both had 1.5 turbocharged engines. I do not miss them with my hybrid Accord. I have just as much get up and go, and, it is mostly quieter. I really wouldn’t want to switch back. I love seeing 43.6 MPG. They are good these days. Manufacturers could make them get better eMPG, but, they would lose get up and go, and no one wants that.
Just four years ago, for example, General Motors set a goal of ending production of all internal combustion models by 2035, and all but eliminated hybrids from its future product plans. Other manufacturers also bet heavily on electric vehicles and scaled their hybrid plans.
But then a funny thing happened. Car shoppers balked at the high prices of fully electric models and the challenges of charging them. In the last few years, sales of electric vehicles have grown at a much slower rate than automakers once expected. And hybrids have stepped in to fill the gap, accounting for a large and growing share of new car sales.
“People like the attributes that hybrids bring to the table,” said Jessica Caldwell, executive director of insights at Edmunds, a market researcher. “They offer better mileage than pure gasoline models, and the prices are pretty close to pure gas vehicles, so they’re much more affordable than E.V.s.”
In other words, their sales lines are driven by what customers want, not what the climate cultists in government want.
Republican legislation working its way through Congress could further lift sales of hybrids. In May, the House passed a policy bill backed by President Trump that would eliminate a $7,500 tax credit available to people who bought or leased electric vehicles. That legislation would also impose an annual tax of $250 on electric cars and $100 on hybrids to finance road projects. The Senate version of the bill introduced this week would do away with the tax credit, too, but does not include the annual tax.
I don’t agree with that. If you want an EV, get one. Entice people to do so. Nothing wrong with keeping the credits. You can also give credits for hybrids, as well. I like EVs. But, like I’ve said, 90% of they time they work for me: it’s the other 10% that is a problem.
Nearly half the cars and trucks that Toyota and its luxury brand, Lexus, sold in the first five months of the year were hybrids — and sales of those vehicles were up about 40 percent from a year earlier. Ford Motor’s hybrid sales rose 31 percent in the same period. Honda is on track this year for its highest hybrid sales ever, and the hybrid versions of its Accord sedan and CR-V sport utility vehicle now outsell the gasoline-only models.
Not necessarily fair on Accords, since all but the 2 lowest trims are hybrid, but, yeah, sell, more hybrid CRVs than gas. At the end of the day, it is about giving the consumer what they want, not what moonbats in government want. Especially since the people forcing this on Americans rarely drive EVs themselves.
We bought a CRV this year and were all set to purchase a hybrid. Then we learned that the hybrid does not have a spare tire, just a bottle of goop to, hopefully, seal the hole if you get a flat. It had a special compartment for the goop bottle but absolutely no other storage. If you want to have a pump for your goop filled tire or tow strap or a roll of TP you have to put it in the back somewhere.
The dealer told us that buyers were purchasing a spare tire on their own, hauling around in back with everything else, like their luggage. That killed the deal. We’re in Montana. I have AAA with 200 mile towing for a reason. Our last tow for a busted car was 130 miles to a mechanic. A 130 mile tow for a flat tire would be stupid. I’ve driven 100 miles or more on a donut more than once.
The closest gas CRV was three states away, in a big city. Only hybrids were available in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho because (I believe) they weren’t selling. I suspect the gas models sold as soon as they were available.