Are Hybrid Cars Cool or Uncool – Uncool
The idea of having a green car, or green anything for that matter, is very cool. I personally find hybrid cars themselves to be very uncool for several reasons. It certainly seems like hybrid vehicles tend to be driven far more often by elitist snobs than are other types of green vehicles. Let me examine just a few observations about Hybrid vehicles that help form my opinion that hybrid vehicles are in fact very uncool.
Hybrid cars do get great mileage, but they cost a lot more to purchase than more conventional vehicles that are also fuel saving and green. Added to the cost of the high sticker price is the fact that hybrid cars have battery banks that need replacing in about 6 years at a cost which would be similar to having a major transmission overhaul done on your conventional vehicle's automatic transmission. Not only to you have the expense of trading out those toxic batteries, you then add to the toxic pollution problems this planet has with heavy metals and other caustic chemicals when disposal of the old batteries takes place. It seems hybrid cars may be only light green if really green at all.
Why is it that a hybrid car also has to be an ugly car? I do not understand why the designers do not at least try to make hybrids look at least a little more cool. I would venture to say at least some people stay away from the hybrid vehicles due to the fact they sort of look like socks on a rooster. The rear tires tend to track narrow compared to the front tires and didn't fender skirts go out in the 1940's? I am sure some needed design tweaks would make them at least appear a little more cool. Look at the Volkswagen New Beetle for example. It is very green with the TDI engine which can run on recycled vegetable oil and gets 46 miles per gallon around town and around 52 on longer trips. The Beetle is very cool looking and is really green in function. When you add the fact the TDI Beetle requires no batteries except the standard starting battery all vehicles require and the need for very little maintenance service, it really seems the traditional Volkswagen is much more cool than the hybrid vehicles are.
True, the experts say the battery replacements will get cheaper when more people use hybrid vehicles. However, what is the incentive for more people to spend lots of extra money purchasing a hybrid when a VW Beetle is far cheaper and gets as good or better mileage? What about the acceleration issue? Hybrid vehicle acceleration is anemic when compared to the acceleration of a VW with a TDI motor and producing the same fuel economy. In my opinion, hybrid cars are at the moment definitely uncool and conventional fuel saving vehicles are very cool.
