Hybrid Cars: The Slow Drive To Energy Security Essay -- Gasoline Elect

Hybrid Cars: The Slow Drive to Energy Security The hybrid car market is slowly ramping up. In the past five years the number of hybrid sales in the U.S. grew tenfold from 9,500 in 2000 to 100,000 in 2004. By the end of 2005, the number of hybrid cars on American roads will grow to 300,000, represented by about seven or eight hybrid models, including the two-door Honda Insight, which will have sales of about 2,000 in 2005. The increasing sales numbers are encouraging, but must be viewed in the context of the overall car market. The 100,000 hybrid car sales in 2004 represent about one-half of one percent of the 17 million new cars sold this year. If every new hybrid driver effectively (and optimistically) doubled fuel economy from 20 mpg to 40 mpg for 40 miles of daily driving, then a gallon per hybrid car would be saved every single day. That's a whopping 100,000 gallons per day chalked up to hybrid car drivers. But, we've only reduced our daily U.S. consumption from 360 million gallons to 359,900,000 gallons. Market forecasters predict a continued annual doubling of hybrid car sales for the next few years. We could reach the major milestone of one million hybrid cars on American roads somewhere in the 2007 or 2008 timeframe. Again, this is cause for celebration, until you consider that there are approximately 200 million cars in America today—and over 700 million vehicles worldwide. If car numbers keep increasing at the present rate, there will be more than a billion cars and trucks on the road across the world in 20 years. Vehicles are now driven two trillion miles each year in the U.S., and there are more cars than adults. Nevertheless, with the proven success of the Toyota Prius, which won every possible accolade... ...nsumers of hybrid cars have demonstrated, with their pocketbooks, their commitment to reducing oil dependency. In marketing lingo, they are considered â€Å"influencers† — the segment which is more educated, more affluent, and older — and which shapes the buying decisions of the rest of America. Hybrid owners sit behind the wheel of their hybrid everyday, and wonder what more they could do. Unfortunately, hybrid drivers and alternative energy supporters are now splintered and their efforts are diffuse. In order to put enough pressure on the automakers to stop resisting the change that must come, hybridcars.com is trying to galvanize hybrid drivers and develop partnerships with advocacy groups to develop the most effective strategies for promoting greater fuel efficiency in our cars and trucks. The environment, the economy, and our national security hang in the balance.