Mixed reviews for Hybrid cars

Sales locally are slower than national trends

Sales of hybrid cars showed a significant increase across the United States during the first six months of 2012.

According to sales information compiled by HybridCars.com and the Michigan-based market research firm Baum and Associates, U.S. hybrid car sales increased 63.5 percent during the first six months of 2012.

Local car dealers have seen mixed results in sales of hybrids, which are vehicles that use two or more distinct power sources to propel the vehicle.

"Our best selling car is the Hyundai Sonata. For a while we couldn't get rid of them and now we can't keep them in stock," said Tim Edmundson, sales manager at Dean Patterson Chevrolet Cadillac Mazda Hyundai, Altoona. "We've seen about a 100 percent increase over last year."

Edmundson said he has sold about 50 more Sonatas so far this year compared to last year.

Joel Confer Toyota in State College has been selling a lot of the Toyota Prius C and V models both introduced in 2012, said sales manager Alan Hall.

The C is a compact version of the original Prius, while the V is a wagon-like vehicle with a more spacious interior.

"We are selling all of the C and V models we can get. Sales are great. That is the positive side of the gas price increases, but they are selling either way (whether price goes up or down)," Hall said. "I think the economy is starting to stabilize regardless of what the news says. We are up in total volume (new vehicle sales) over last year by about 40 percent."

Hybrid sales also are up at Fiore Toyota, Hollidaysburg.

"Our hybrid sales since November 2011 are up 47 percent. We have sold 77 hybrids since then. The increase is due to the inconsistency of fuel prices and people are realizing that hybrids are OK now," said Jack Williams, sales consultant. "We have never had to replace a battery in a hybrid since we started selling them in 2004."

The same is true at Dix Honda in State College.

"We saw an increase from January to April but nothing like 63 percent. It was more like 15 to 20 percent. From the end of April until now it has leveled off and is not climbing. The price of gas had stabilized," said Jeff Stevenson, general manager.

On the other hand, Blair Honda in Altoona has not seen a significant increase in hybrid sales.

"The vast majority of our products get respectable gas mileage. Our Honda Civic products get 39 to 40 miles per gallon. When you can get that kind of mileage it may not be worth the difference to pay the extra price for a hybrid," sad Eric Noll, sales manager.

Hybrids cost more because you are paying for the advanced technology. For example, Williams said a Toyota Camry hybrid costs about $2,000 more than a regular model.

Some dealers said hybrids are not that popular in this area.

"They are mostly made for stop-and-go traffic, city-type driving," said Barry Golding, sales manager at State College Ford Lincoln.

Bob Bradley, sales manager at Courtesy Ford Kia in Altoona, said hybrids are better suited for the metro areas.

"People are finding out they don't get much better gas mileage around here because of the hills and terrain. Hybrids don't do as well in freezing weather, because when it is cold the batteries do not produce as much power," Bradley said. "There are people who ask us about them but once they see how much more they cost, they go with the gas model."

Dealers are not sure what to expect for the remainder of the year.

"All bets are off because of the price of gasoline. If the price of gas goes higher, people have to take another look at the numbers to see if it would benefit them to purchase a hybrid," Noll said. "If gas continues to rise, hybrids and diesels likely will take off in popularity."

Porsche 918 RSR To Promote Virtues of Hybrids

Porsche 918 RSR To Promote Virtues of Hybrids

According to Porsche's head of Motorsport, Hartmut Kristen, the 918 RSR will be as much a marketing tool as a technological test bed.

"A Porsche is about emotion and passion," he told Inside Line. "We want to get our customers excited about the possibilities provided by hybrid technology. Until now, the Toyota Prius was the hybrid, and we need to change perceptions. In the long term we have to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. This is not just about climate change; it's also about protecting the world's oil reserves."

Porsche is currently developing two hybrids: a Prius-style battery system for use in road cars and a flywheel accumulator solution for racing. The former will be used in the 918 Spyder supercar, which will debut next year. The latter, developed in association with the Williams F1 team, debuted on the 911 GT3 R Hybrid and features in the 918 RSR.

"A flywheel solution works in a racecar because of the highly dynamic driving conditions," says Kristen. "You're collecting and discharging energy in fractions of a second. The flywheel allows us to collect more kinetic energy than a battery but you need to keep a pump running to maintain a vacuum in the system if you want to retain the energy, so it's not a good solution for the road."

According to Kristen, the main issue is not how you store the energy, but how you discharge it. "We're trying to learn as much as possible about how you merge two different power systems together. We need to develop the controls and systems to make the best use of the technology. Porsche is not about making components; our core competency is building cars but we need to understand what we need from the components we source."

The 918 RSR is currently a showcar and is not fully functional. Nor would it currently comply with the regulations for any of the major sports car series. "We wanted to excite our customers and to raise the appetite of the regulation makers for changing the rules," says Kristen.

One potential solution would be to introduce a one-make championship for the 911 GT3 R Hybrid or the 918. "The technology is currently too young and expensive," reckons Kristen, "but in the future it might be feasible. It is possible to imagine a Porsche Supercup series being run with hybrid cars."


Porsche 918 RSR To Promote Virtues of Hybrids