Hybrid Buyer's Guide 2005

[bartkat]

"I'm thinking about getting one of those hybrid cars" is something being said a lot these days.

Unfortunately, customers with such feelings don't have many choices--for now. Watch this space for future hybrid buyer's guides and you will see more and more gas/electric vehicles in showrooms. From mainstream automakers such as General Motors (nyse: GM - news - people ) to low-volume specialists such as Porsche, companies of all sorts are hurrying to prepare hybrids for market.

The slide show that follows is a guide to 2006-model hybrids (the model year is already underway). The field is small now, but these types of vehicles are about to see a growth spurt. Companies that currently sell hybrids are planning to offer even more. Toyota Motor (nyse: TM - news - people ), which sells the Prius hybrid sedan and Highlander Hybrid and Lexus RX 400h hybrid SUVs, is planning to introduce a hybrid version of its top-selling Camry sedan next year, as well as a hybrid version of the Lexus GS luxury sedan, which will go into production in the middle or latter part of 2006.

http://www.forbes.com/2005/10/07/hybrids-c...011feat_ls.html

[RX400h]

....and Mercedes keeps insisting that its diesels are the answer........

[smcd]

....and Mercedes keeps insisting that its diesels are the answer........

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The Germans might be on to something...

[RX400h]

....and Mercedes keeps insisting that its diesels are the answer........

←

The Germans might be on to something...

←

The headlines in today's paper announced that American vehicles are now more reliable than German vehicles. Mercedes and Volkswagen appear to be dragging them down quickly, but BMWs have not been doing well, either. In Car & Driver's recent small sedan comparison, their 330 (BMW) had numerous problems - a certain warning sign of reliability problems down the road (This was a new model).

Regarding diesels, has anyone noticed diesel fuel prices at the pump lately? I'm seeing 50 cents per gallon higher prices than those of regular gas. That's a full 30 cents higher than super-unleaded!

[rexmiami]

American automobile drivers have cut back on the number of miles they drive, thus the recent drop in prices. Truckers have to keep driving thus the oil companies can keep the deisel prices high. Unfortunately that will lead to higher prices on all commodities that are transported by truck or train. The only way to beat the fuel prices of late was to have owned oil stocks for the last few months. :chairshot: