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Concerned about the environment?
Consider a hybrid vehicle
By Mike Thompson With his concern for the environment, Saginaw's Ken Kousky made a new kind of choice last fall when he was on the market for a small-sized sports utility vehicle.
He purchased a Toyota Highlander
with a hybrid adjustment that combines traditional gas fuel with
electric power.
Result: One person's contribution toward
cleaner air, and against the ozone depletion that leads toward global
warning.
Mid-Michigan auto dealers don't see a big
trend, but they say a few customers are asking about hybrids and many
more are in pursuit of higher mileage vehicles.
Kousky says he gets about 30 miles per
gallon in the city and 24 on the highway, the reverse of normal stats
that give lower mileage for in-city driving.
This is because the brakes help charge
the battery in stop-and-go traffic, whereas it's still 'all gas' on the
interstate.
"For me, it was more of an emotional than
an economical decision," says Kousky, noting that he shelled out more
than $30,000 for the spanking new vehicle at Draper Toyota.
"I love the concept of what hybrids are
trying to accomplish, and as the manufacturers sell more, they will get
better."
"Economically, it was pretty much a
break-even deal. I paid quite a premium to get the hybrid, but then
received a $2,000 tax credit, even though it is 100 percent made in
Japan. The U.S. manufacturers have a long way to go to catch up."
Tad Veremis, a sales manager for
Martin Chevrolet, disagrees that the American automakers are behind.
"If you're talking 'green', I'm proud of
what I sell. General Motors is leading the country in flex-fuel
technology and in producing grain cars," Veremis says, referring to
ethanol 85, produced with corn.
He also describes a technology in which a
vehicle shuts off half of its cylinders during stretches when less power
is needed.
"The vehicle does it by itself, and the
driver doesn't even feel it. The information shows on the dashboard,"
Veremis says.
GM this fall is introducing hybrids with
mid-size Malubus and Tahoe SUVs, he says.
A few customers ask about hybrids, he
notes, but far more simply want higher mileage as gas prices continue to
hover at more than $3 per gallon.
"More people are looking for second cars
that they can drive in town," Veremis says. "They will keep their
campers for when they go out into the woods, but they want more
fuel-efficient cars for work and business."
Hybrid vehicles first became available in
2000 with the Honda Insight. Next came the Toyota Prius in
2001, which has become the most popular hybrid in America. The debut
among slower-to-the-trend American manufacturers was General Motors'
Silverado and Sierra in 2004.
The trend today has hit a hallmark, but
it isn't much of a hallmark. Statistics indicate that about 2 percent
of sales are for hybrids. The remaining 98 percent are for our
traditional gas-guzzlers.
Customers such as Ken Kousky may shop not
only for a Toyota Highlander hybrid, but also for a Ford
Accord or Escape, a Mazda Tribute, a Mercury Marina,
a Nissan Ultima, a Saturn Aura, or a Lexus Rx. On
your Internet on Google, you may wish to hunt for
hybridcars.com.
Kousky and his wife, sometimes with their
two grown children, are among those who head for the woods.
"I wanted the benefits of an SUV, sort of
like a mini SUV," he explains. "I love the car, and I feel I am doing
what is right."
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