As gas prices spike, more consumers turn to cars that unite gasoline engines with battery-powered electric motors for great gas mileage.
By BENITA D. NEWTON
Published March 13, 2004
[Times photo: Jamie Francis]
Dunedin businessman Don Dinegar bought a Honda Civic Hybrid on March 10 to save gas money. It gets more than twice the miles per gallon of his last vehicle.
When Don Dinegar headed out this week in search of a new car, he had dollar signs in his eyes.
But as Dinegar, 45, scrutinized the stickers on the car windows, he wasn't focusing as much on the price of the car as on how much it would cost him later at the gas pump. That's why he left the Palm Harbor Honda dealership in a 2004 Honda Civic Hybrid.
It gives him an average of 47 miles to the gallon, more than twice the mileage he was getting with his Jeep Cherokee Sport.
"I was ready for a new car, and given where gas prices are going, I knew I needed to get something that would save me money in the long run," said Dinegar, who owns M&D Wireless Communications in Dunedin. "My car payment is $100 more, but I'm saving more than that each month on gas."
Hollywood celebrities have been polishing their environmentalist credentials by showing up at award shows and premiers in the "green" vehicles, which spit out less pollution than their counterparts. Across the country, though, hybrids may hold more pragmatic appeal.
With gas prices ticking upward, more consumers are turning toward hybrid cars such as the Civic, the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius, which combine gasoline engines with battery-powered electric motors.
Knox Wimberly, sales manager for Palm Harbor Honda, said interest in the gas-stingy cars has surged along with gas prices, which hit another record high Friday in the Tampa Bay area: $1.717 for a gallon of unleaded fuel, according to the Automobile Association of America.
Purchases of the Civic Hybrid at the Palm Harbor dealership have increased 300 percent in the last month, and auto shoppers who want one will have to wait about 45 days, Wimberly said.
"We have environmentally conscious people who come in looking for hybrids," Wimberly said. "But most of the time, it's people who figure out that they can actually lower their monthly expenses by buying one of them - particularly now that (gasoline) prices are approaching $2 and they don't appear to be going down any time soon."
David Trachtenberg, a sales consultant at Precision Toyota in Tampa, said the number of people inquiring about the Prius, which can go up to 650 miles on its 11.9-gallon tank, has doubled in the last year. About a dozen people are on Precision's waiting list for the hybrid.
"We've given away every single brochure we have on the vehicle," Trachtenberg said. "And every single Prius built for the next eight or nine months nationwide has already been sold."
Trachtenberg said this is partly because people are beginning to become more aware of how the vehicles work. "A lot of people still believe the car has to be plugged in overnight, which isn't true at all," he said. "People are always leery of new technology, and they don't realize that hybrid technology has been perfected."
The car's electric motor, which recharges itself as the car runs, comes to life in stop-and-go traffic and at slow speeds. The conventional gasoline engine kicks in at higher speeds.
The hybrid sect is expected to expand even more by the end of the year when hybrid versions of the Honda Accord, Lexus RX SUV, Toyota Camry and Highlander, Ford Escape, GMC Sierra and Chevy Silverado hit the streets.
Unlike with the Civic or Prius, adding a hybrid engine to a giant vehicle like the Silverado or Highlander will at most take the edge off of its gas-guzzling appetite. It may also assuage guilt among some of those who buy giant SUVs and trucks.
Critics still question whether the fuel efficiency can make up for the extra upfront cost of hybrids. The cars cost $3,000 to $6,000 more than their siblings, but buyers may be eligible for a federal tax deduction of up to $1,500 for a 2004 model. Some states offer tax breaks, too. Despite the growing interest, only 47,525 hybrid vehicles were bought in 2003, a fraction of the more than 16-million cars and trucks sold last year. Michael Cooley, general manager at Crown Honda in Pinellas Park, acknowledges that there are still some obstacles to be overcome, but he's optimistic that that will change as the technology becomes more familiar.
"The fact remains that if you take pencil to paper on the gas savings," Cooley said, "you'll see how quickly you'll get a return on your investment."
