The 2010 Honda Insight

Honda has revealed more information than Toyota has about the new Insight, so it’s easier to analyze its pluses and minuses. The 5-door Insight’s styling is very similar to the Prius’s (although it can be argued the Toyota borrowed from Honda’s styling of the original Insight when it created the Prius). With the Prius as the benchmark, though, you might sum up by saying that the Insight is less in several regards: The overall size is smaller, the gas engine is smaller, its EPA fuel economy is rated at 40/43, and it’s expected to be less expensive than the Prius (although, neither manufacturer has revealed pricing as I write this).

Specifically, the new Honda Insight has a 1.3-liter semisingle-overhead-cam, 8-valve, 4-cylinder engine that makes 98 horsepower. By U.S. standards, that’s a small engine for a car whose curb weight is 2723 pounds. The 10-kilowatt electric motor delivers 13 hp. It should be noted that Honda’s hybrid technology uses a very small “assist” electric motor. (For comparison, Toyota’s 2009 Prius employs a much larger 50-kilowatt, 67-horsepower electric motor. According to Toyota’s preliminary specifications, the 2010 Prius’ electric motor will make 80 horsepower.)

The Insight has a continuously-variable transmission (CVT), like that of the Prius and many other hybrids. The battery pack is nickel-metal hydride, like those used by Toyota hybrids. The wheelbase is 100.4 inches. Honda’s approach is to go smaller and lighter — a strategy that makes sense given that the power-to-weight ratio is a big issue in hybrid vehicles, and even more importantly, weight has a huge impact on fuel economy.

Pricing is an important part of the Insight value proposition. Although Honda has not released pricing, industry observers have pegged it as possibly starting as low as $18,000 or $19,000, which is several thousand dollars less than the 2009 Prius.

But is less really more? That’s difficult to judge from a spec sheet. The Insight is expected to be available in April. Honda’s Insight website offers detailed specs, but for more information, see the 2010 Honda Insight press release.

Finally, I was let down by the final design and trim out of the 2010 Honda Insight. It doesn’t live up to the concept vehicles that came before it. To me it looks faintly reminiscent of a smaller 2001 Dodge Stratus with a Prius rear end. The front grill looks cheesy. Honda’s U.S. vehicles have, in general, lost their design appeal. My 1989 Accord was gorgeous in comparison with the current day Accord. The 2010 Insight isn’t butt ugly, like the previous generations of the Prius. It’s just bland.

The third-generation 2010 Prius

Toyota is calling this vehicle its “third generation Prius,” but as I predicted in earlier posts, it does not offer a lighter-weight lithium-ion battery pack. There are significant hurdles of safety and manufacturing that Toyota and others have not been able to iron yet pertaining to mass production lithium-ion batteries for hybrid vehicles. Even so, Toyota has managed to upgrade its technology in several significant ways.

The conservative body changes are also not the “pretty Prius” that was heavily rumored last year. The biggest change is is a nearly four-inch pushback of the hump in the roofline and some pillar repositioning to improve aerodynamics and deliver more rear-seat headroom where it’s needed. The cargo area is over two inches wider, and a tad longer. Toyota claims that the redesign also reduces the new Prius’ coefficient of drag to an impressive 0.25 (down from 0.26).

The 2010 Prius gets a larger, higher torque 98-horsepower Atkinson-cycle 1.8-liter 4-cylinder engine. Toyota says this larger engine (the old one was 1.61.5 liters) will deliver better fuel economy at highway speeds because it will be strong enough to run in a higher gear range (added for the 2010 Prius), even on inclines. And while this hasn’t been EPA-tested yet, Toyota is predicting 50/ 50 miles per gallon in combined driving.

Several changes are aimed at reducing power consumption. Toyota lightened its electric motivation system by trimming the size and weight of the electric motor, inverter, and transaxle. (Imagine if they paired that with a lighter battery pack.) The new Prius also offers LED low-beam headlights on some trim lines. The air conditioning system has been reengineered for cool-down efficiency.

Perhaps more importantly for those in colder climes, the heating system is more efficient in the 2010 Prius. I get about 5 miles per gallon less in the dead of winter in my 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. The Prius probably doesn’t take this much of a hit because it was designed from scratch as a hybrid. The Highlander Hybrid’s heat is slow to take effect, so you really need the anemic heated seat to get through a New England winter. The gas engine has to run more frequently to make cabin heat. On really cold days, I’m not driving for gas mileage — I’m driving to warm up!

The new Prius has several new systems and functions that may be more glitzy than truly useful. But they’re also kind of cool. For example, an optional sliding-glass moonroof contains solar panels that can power a ventilation system even when the car is parked and off. It reduces cabin temperature on sunny days, reducing the initial cool-down period for air conditioning.

Some of the more advanced — and clearly in need of real-world testing — features include Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, Lane Keep Assist, the Pre-Collision System, and Intelligent Parking Assist. Each of these uses technology designed to save you from yourself, and, as such, I’m not a big fan. On the other hand, I haven’t tried them either.

Toyota’s 2010 Prius website is a triumph of form over function that doesn’t actually impart much more than basic bullet points about what’s new. Even the pictures of the new Prius there are based on a late prototype, not the final vehicle. The 2010 Prius press release is far more detailed. Check it out for more information. Until there are more hard facts on the 2010 Prius, you can refer to the 2009 Prius specs for details, since many things — such as its 106.3-inch wheelbase — are unchanged.

My On-Paper Assessment

It should be noted that while both the Insight and Prius are 5-door hatchbacks, the Prius is larger than the Insight. It’s also likely that the Prius base price will be at least $2,000 more than that of the Insight, and the cost delta could be as much as $5,000. Toyota is very busy watching its bottom line these days. The point: These cars are not really quite in the same class. If you want a low-cost hybrid that gets over 40 mpg and has a back seat and a fifth door, the Honda may be just fine for your needs.

Based on the specs we have to date, however, for me it would be no contest in favor of the Prius. I believe performance, both in terms of pick up and gas mileage, will be better in the Toyota hybrid. (The Honda is very likely to offer better handling.) The Prius also offers more cargo space. These are the most important things to me.

In the real world where people have varying priorities, there’s more than enough room for two 5-door hybrids. Both vehicles will be successful, and despite their similarity in appearance, will appeal to different types of buyers.

So, if I didn’t have a pickup truck, what vehicle would I need to handle my weekend woodworking and landscaping projects while at the same time allowing me to ferry around kids to soccer games, etc.? Despite having excellent second row seating, the Toyota Tundra DoubleCab is no fun to park or zip around town in. Since my wife bought her 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid last August, I’d taken to using her car on the weekends — when I could get it.

Sitting there on the L.I.E. in the back of this guy’s Highlander Hybrid cab, the answer crystallized in my mind. I have hitch attachments that extend the relatively short cargo area behind the first row of the Highlander (and ply wood won’t lie flat, but it’s not like I usually buy more than four sheets a time). I have a cargo platform (2 feet by 5 feet) that slips into the hitch receiver, giving me a lot more storage space. I’ve also used it to ferry my snow blower and gas grill for servicing. I have a bike rack hitch attachment. The Highlander has a decent roof rack and a fairly long roof line. Most of all, I don’t need to haul big things very often. To be honest, the truck has spent more time ferrying Christmas trees than serious payloads. If I really need a pickup, I can always rent one. In the era of $4 gas, a pickup truck that’s not a full-time work truck is not just a luxury, it’s just plain irresponsible for my needs.

So with that as the lead in, I decided several weeks ago to buy a used 2006 or 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid — the same vehicle my wife owns. I’d already done all the research when we bought her car. It’s the best designed, most fuel-efficient people mover to be had. Owning one for nearly a year hasn’t changed my opinion on that score one jot. There are still 2008 Highlander Hybrids around, but I’m not fond of the newer model, especially because it’s quite a bit more expensive.

In the end, I fell into a lucky deal — a used 2007 model with only 4,000 miles on it that was literally owned by a little old lady who rarely drove it. It’s exactly like my wife Cyndy’s except for color and DVD navigation option. Cyndy doesn’t care for DVD navigation because of a strong preference for analog dials and an absence of glitzy graphics while she’s driving. Even the interior color of my new vehicle is the same as hers. All I had to do was have the dealer add the tow hitch. The Highlander is rated to tow up to 3,500 pounds, but what I’m interested in is the 350-pound tongue weight for various attachments that lack wheels.

Won’t his and her Highlanders be kinda cute? Isn’t the Highlander a plain and drab Camry derivative? Yes and yes. But it’s the right vehicle for my needs. The hybrid technology will add 10-15 mpg over what I’ve been getting with the truck, plus it’s a lot more enjoyable to zip around in, park, and do all the things that parents with young kids do. And the Highlander will be an adequate vehicle for most of my home-improvement projects.

I take delivery tomorrow.

1. The next-gen Prius (which may or may not be the 2010 or 2009 model) will get a new, more fuel-efficient 1.8-liter 4-cylinder gas engine from the 35-mpg 2009 Toyota Corolla. The new Prius will get higher gas mileage — probably mostly as a result of this new gas engine.

2. The new Prius body will have mild cosmetic updates, not a major upgrade. The body will have longer, sloping nose and will have a sportier appearance overall.

3. The new Prius will not have lithium-ion batteries, and I was told it will not have a larger electric motor (although that second point was conveyed with far less confidence).

4. The Prius name will be used on a small line-up of vehicles that are under development now.

5. Toyota is planning a new hybrid vehicle that will have Prius model-line badging and will be called the “Abat” (spelling?). It will be a hybrid 4×4 truck crossover based on the RAV4 platform combined with a drivetrain derived from the Camry Hybrid. My source described it as being a cross between the Subaru Brat of the late 1970s …

… and the Honda Ridgeline. It will have a fold-down rear wall that lets you extend the bed into the rear seat like the Ridgeline and Chevy Avalanche. When extended, the bed will be 6-feet long.

If this information about the Prius is true, Toyota may call the new drivetrain in next year’s Prius the third generation of its Hybrid Synergy Drive (hybrid technology), but if so it will be letting its marketing department get the best of it. Any new evolution of the hybrid technology should involve a system that lets the vehicle drive a bit faster and longer on electric power before the gas engine kicks in. In my opinion, it should also incorporate safe, longer-lasting, lighter-weight lithium-ion batteries.

That said, the new Corolla engine is EPA rated at 27 mpg city and 35 mpg highway. In its initial test, Consumer Reports got 32 mpg in the mixed driving and 40 mpg on the highway — with the 4-speed automatic. The gas economy of the new 1.8-liter Corolla engine is pretty impressive. A colleague of mine recently traded in his Toyota Tundra DoubleCab pickup for the new Corolla. He tells me he’s getting 40 mpg with it. He commutes 90 miles a day (both ways), and the Corolla has cut his gasoline consumption by half.

Outlook Worsening? Or Becoming More Realistic

I probably don’t have to tell you that things are getting worse on the oil front. Despite a recent temporary drop in oil prices, many experts believe we’re not going back to sub-$100-a-barrel oil prices. General Motors announced that it’s dropping its focus on big SUVs and turning its attention to building a small vehicle with a 1.4-liter engine for domestic consumption.

I think we can finally expect to see both a raft a new hybrids as well as many more small vehicles with small, highly fuel-efficient engines. The American consumer has gotten the message. In my area, there’s now as much as a six-month wait for the Toyota Prius. People are snatching up small cars rapidly. Car sales finally beat out truck sales in May. Things are changing rapidly.

My thinking has changed too. I had been planning to keep my 2004 Toyota Tundra DoubleCab as a luxury — a weekend-only vehicle. But I’m now thinking about trading it for some sort of hybrid vehicle, possibly even a second Highlander Hybrid. I realize my purist readers are going to bash me for the large hybrid if I go that way, but I’m giving up a vehicle with ultimate utility, and I’m going to need something I can haul stuff with. I do woodworking and landscaping myself, and I’m not prying my wife’s Highlander Hybrid out of her hands, or messing it up with my Home Depot runs. I’m thinking a used 2006 Highlander Hybrid, by the way. I can’t afford the new design. They’re way expensive. But I may have trouble locating a used one.

We know very little about Toyota’s third-gen hybrid technology as yet, but what’s leaked out is that it’s supposed to offer better gas mileage and more power. The car is apparently also undergoing a redesign that may make it one-inch wider and three to four inches longer (according to various reports). Toyota may also be increasing the number of trim levels, and may eventually offer other vehicles with the Prius badge, including some sort of small minivan.

There is precious little information directly attributed to Toyota about any of details. In fact, there are a great many conflicting reports. One of the more recent stories from Edmunds Auto Observer is, however, worth a read. The story offers more detail than any other story I’ve read on this subject, and it pegs the launch date of the redesigned Prius as January 2009. A May 2008 Road & Track story also sheds some light on the topic. The rest of the links flesh out additional information, including what Honda is doing:

• Toyota Prius: Next Chapter Opens in January — Edmunds Auto Observer, 4/28/2008
• Exposed: 2009 Toyota Prius — Road & Track, May 2008
• Toyota Lays Down Hybrid Gauntlet — AutoWeek, 1/14/2008
• Toyota Prius: Chapter Three — Edmunds Auto Observer, 7/16/2007
• Honda to Add Three New Hybrids: 2010 Fit, CR-Z, and Small Hatchback — Car & Drive, May 2008
• Nissan plans mass production of lithium-ion batteries — Automotive News, May 19, 2008

This Popular Mechanics image, which may be a photo illustration, is likely not based on the actual final version of the new Prius. It appears to be an artist’s rendition of the 2009 Prius based on published descriptions of the new dimensions of the vehicle and changes to the nose. The refinements shown to the rear end, while attractive, are probably not in the cards. This Road & Track slideshow shows what it purports to be camouflaged 2009 Prius. If these images show something like the real deal for 2009, it’s a very mild cosmetic upgrade that might be nothing more than a mild refresh while we wait for the big change in 2010.

The Right Time to Buy?

Toyota, Honda, Nissan, GM, and Ford are just some of the world’s auto manufacturers that are gearing up in a big way to deliver major new hybrid line-ups and also plug-in hybrid vehicles over the next couple of years. 2010 is the likely arrival timeframe for many of these efforts. So, should you wait?

In my opinion, no — not if you’re already in the market for a new vehicle. The Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid are both viable vehicles right now that will save you money and cut back on harmful emissions right away.

The only steep-demand tax that consumers are paying Toyota right now is that dealers aren’t dealing off the suggested retail price of any of their hybrid models. In many U.S. markets, they’re completely sold out of hybrids but they’re continuing to sell them sight unseen “off the boat.” Customers don’t even get a pre-purchase test drive. Plus you’ll likely have to wait a couple of months to take delivery. But bottom line, the prices haven’t gone up yet.

Even if Toyota intends to hold the price on lower-end trim levels of the Prius, I have my doubts about whether it will be able to do so. Some of the factors that go into my thinking include the weakness of the dollar against the yen and other currencies, the cost of transportation, reduction or elimination of tax incentives, building demand for hybrids, possible limits on the production levels for the less expensive models, the worsening U.S. economy, and rising costs of manufacturing, both in the U.S. and overseas. In the 1990s, Toyota dealers in my area routinely slapped dealer mark-ups on their high-demand vehicles of as much as $2,000 above retail. Even though Toyota frowns on such practices, it could happen again.

What about the new technology? Might you have buyer’s remorse with the 2008 model?

I can’t say you won’t. I may feel that way if I buy a 2008 Prius. But there’s always something better around the corner. The real question is, is there be a significant reason to wait?

It appears that Toyota will be launching a new Prius in January. But will it be truly the next-gen hybrid technology, or is it a stopgap update while Toyota attempts to ramp up lithium-ion product? The Edmunds Auto Observer story implies that it’s all coming in early 2009, except the lithium ion batteries. The Road & Track story implies something that’s more likely. Toyota may offer three different levels: Base, Luxury, and Eco. That fits the company’s current situation. So, in that scenario, here are my guesses about the equipment levels for each trim level:

The Base model may have the current mpg levels and possibly the 1.5-liter engine with the existing nickel-metal-hydride batteries. It will be stripped way down to keep the price down. Some of the uplevel options won’t be available at all.

The Luxury model may get the 1.8-liter engine with the nickel-metal-hydride batteries. Gas mileage may suffer a little, but performance will be improved. This will be the most popular Prius sold, and it will probably be priced around $28,000 to $$29,000 depending on options.

The Eco model could have lithium-ion batteries if Toyota and its battery partner Panasonic can work out the production issues (and that’s a big if, in my opinion). The Eco model may have a June or July release date. This model could offer better than current Prius gas mileage with better than current Prius performance (on demand, but with a loss of gas mileage). But you’re going to pay for it. I expect this model to sell for as much as $32,000 to $33,000.

All three models will have the redesigned body style.

Of course, all of this is just my guesswork. The reality could be something very different. We might, for example, see only the new body design and Toyota’s improved Hybrid Synergy electric motor. The main advantage of that new motor is an increase of power output. If the weight is about the same as the old motor, or if it’s miraculously less, then Toyota should be able to run the car to higher speeds and for longer durations without switching on the gas engine. That would deliver notable improvements in fuel economy around town. Would Toyota dub that level of improvement its third-generation hybrid system? It just might. I’m pretty sure that, originally, Toyota had intended to factor lithium-ion batteries into that mix. But we’ll see.

I do think that Toyota will eventually get all this right. It’s trying to please both the eco and performance crowds. It did the same thing in miniature with the 2008 Highlander Hybrid. That’s why I bought the lighter, smaller 2007 model. I didn’t need a slightly bigger, heavier design. If the 2009 Prius tries to be more things to more people without significantly improving its HEV technology, then it might not offer the vaunted gas economy improvements that Toyota has leaked to the press here and there — at least, not until 2010.

In the end, it comes down to money. How many years will it take to pay-back your hybrid technology if the 2009 Prius costs more? Gas prices are very high right now. What about the loss of savings right now? I’m not an economist or an accountant. All I know is that, for me, it’s a good time to buy this year. If the cost of oil continues to climb, demand will ramp up that much quicker. And usually, prices of goods are determined by supply and demand.

What do you think? If you’re making a move to a new vehicle with better fuel economy, should wait for the barrage of new offerings waiting in the wings, or jump on what’s available now? There’s no right answer, but I’m interested in people’s insights and opinions. Feel free to post your comments or send me an email.

• More Automotive Future: Clean Diesel
• A View of Our Automotive Future

Since then, average U.S. gasoline prices have risen from $2.74 per gallon to $3.88 per gallon (source: GasBuddy.com). In recent weeks, the average U.S. retail price of diesel has also risen dramatically (Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration); it’s currently up $4.49 per gallon. When I wrote very favorably about Clean Diesel last year, diesel prices were in something of a free fall and were almost $2.00 less per gallon on average than they are today.

So, the cost of transportation has increased markedly since last September. I believe the U.S. has been in a recession driven by a loss of consumer confidence since January. The two main causes of that loss are the large slump in housing prices (which, in turn, was caused largely by the sub-prime fiasco) and the precipitous rise in world oil prices. Inflation is a serious problem in the U.S. and elsewhere. The rise of diesel prices is having an increasing effect on the price of goods, which in the wide open spaces of the U.S. is heavily dependent on diesel-powered transportation for distribution.

Put simply, as China and other nations increase their industrialization and standards of living, the demand for oil is increasing steadily. On that last point, so long as we don’t head into a sharp global recession, the likelihood is that demand will continue to rise, perhaps significantly. I hate to be gloomy — I’m generally an optimistic person, especially about business issues — but the signs are not looking good. You don’t need to be an economist to know that the economic situation is heading south.

Cars in the Real World

So what does that mean to you and me in our workaday lives where transportation costs are mounting up?

It may be a transitional technology, but hybrid-electric vehicles are the best bet in the U.S. right now and for the foreseeable future. It’s true that diesel engines derive power more efficiently than gasoline engines, and I’m a staunch backer of the Clean Diesel initiative. But at $4.50 a gallon, diesel-powered cars no longer make much sense for the typical U.S. consumer.

Toyota is the clear technology leader in hybrid-electric-vehicle technology. If you’re in the market for a new car, I recommend checking out two lists provided by Consumer Reports:

• Most Fuel-Efficient Cars
• Most Fuel-Efficient SUVs

[Note: Consumer Reports puts some of its content behind a subscriber firewall, and that could happen to these pages, but right now they're in the clear.]

The large downside to the Consumer Reports lists is that they don’t include all hybrid vehicles, only those in two categories that the magazine has tested. Noticeably absent, for example, is the Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid. For another list of automobiles in the U.S. listed by EPA fuel economy figures, see FuelEconomy.gov. Even though the EPA estimated fuel-economy numbers have become much more realistic beginning with 2008 new vehicles, I find that Consumer Reports‘ numbers (which are sometimes higher and sometimes lower than the EPA estimates) are more realistic.

Some of the vehicles on the Consumer Reports lists are not hybrids, they’re just fuel-efficient gasoline vehicles. If your budget won’t allow for, or your needs don’t justify a more expensive hybrid, very small cars like the Toyota Yaris and Honda Fit make a lot of sense. These vehicles give you about 25 mpg around town and about 40 mpg on the highway (according to Consumer Reports).

Most of us spend most of our time driving city, suburban, or country roads — not cruising at fuel-efficient highway speeds. That’s one of the big reasons why hybrids are so attractive; most of their added fuel economy is delivered around town at slower speeds and when frequent stops are a part of the driving scenario.

In the U.S., the most fuel-efficient hybrid is Toyota’s Prius, the only vehicle in this market designed from the ground up to be hybrid electric. CR rates this vehicle at 35 mpg city and 50 mpg on the highway. Because the more expensive Prius Touring model has shorter stopping distances and slightly better handling, Consumer Reports has recommended this model above the Prius base model. The prices on the Touring model range from about $25,000 to $28,500 in the configurations that it’s typically available (at least, in the northeastern U.S.).

One of the reasons I’m attracted to the Prius is the fifth door. It may be an ugly duckling without much power, but unlike most other hybrid cars, the Prius’s hatchback design gives it very good cargo capacity. The Toyota Camry Hybrid has a bigger back seat but a pocket-size trunk. With two kids, the Prius is more practical for my needs. The biggest single problem with the Prius may be finding one on dealer lots. It’s so popular that no dealers in my area have it in stock. People are paying full price for it without even test driving it and then waiting weeks or months to take delivery.

But what if you don’t have kids or large pets (or you have another kid-hauling vehicle) and your primary concerns are fuel economy and vehicle price? I’ve got the answer for you: Honda Civic Hybrid. Honda uses a smaller 1.3-liter, 8-valve 4-cylinder gas engine coupled with a much smaller electric motor mounted between the engine and transmission. Honda’s design is ingeniously simple and lightweight. Although its fuel economy is less than that of the Prius (26 mpg city and 47 mpg highway) and it has a tiny trunk, it’s also a much better looking car and less expensive — about $23,000 (without satellite-linked navigation). Note, though, that small electric motor doesn’t deliver the mpg savings as well as the Toyota Prius.

The two main choices in a larger sedan are the Toyota Camry Hybrid and the Nissan Altima Hybrid. The chief advantage of the Altima is that you may still be able to get the $2,350 federal tax deduction. There’s information about that on this Nissan page (wait for the flash page to finish drawing, then click the “tax credit” link in the lower right corner).

The chief downside of the Altima is that Nissan is only selling it in California, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, and Rhode Island. Even if you happen to live in one of those eight states, Nissan apparently isn’t training its entire dealer network on how to service the hybrid components, which is not a good situation for those who might drive to Canada, Mexico, Alaska, or any of the rest of the 40 continental states. To a lesser degree, this sort of problem applies to all hybrid vehicles. Even though Toyota supports its hybrids throughout the U.S. and beyond, for many types of repairs you’re better off going to Toyota exclusively for engine and transmission repairs, and some maintenance too. That’s especially true of the Prius.

According to Consumer Reports, the Altima Hybrid gets 27 mpg city and 36 mpg highway. The Toyota Camry Hybrid is a similar vehicle designed around very similar hybrid technology (it appears that Nissan may get its hybrid technology from Toyota). The Camry Hybrid is a bit more fuel efficient, grabbing CR fuel-economy ratings of 28 mpg city and 41 mpg highway. The Nissan Altima Hybrid’s gas engine is less optimized for fuel economy than the Toyota engine. The Altima Hybrid is nearly a second quicker to 60 miles per hour, and it stops in 10 fewer feet than the Camry Hybrid. In most dimensions, the two vehicles are nearly identical, including wheel base, width, height, length, and turning circle. The Altima is 125 pounds lighter. The Camry’s cabin size is slightly larger, though.

When I configure them online, the Altima and Camry hybrids come out to about $30,000. But these models may be hard to find. When I search dealer inventories in my area, the prices are higher because they have added options.

For those who would prefer to buy a hybrid from a U.S. company, Ford is working on a redesign for the Ford Fusion (and Mercury Milan) that will include a hybrid variation. It’s unclear whether this will be a mildly updated version of the hybrid technology used in the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner SUVs, or whether it represents an all new second generation hybrid technology from Ford. A video on the Ford website touts the performance advantages of forthcoming “EcoBoost” engines coming in 2009 with “V8-like power” and “V6-like fuel economy.” The video shows the Fusion in several spots. If EcoBoost is the next generation, it might not offer high miles per gallon. Pricing on the forthcoming Fusion Hybrid hasn’t been released.

If you want a larger hybrid, such as a cross-over SUV, your options are greatly limited. The vehicle my wife and I bought, the 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid, was expensive. It’s easy to drive, extremely well designed to maximize people space and cargo area, and the hybrid technology has been delivering an average 28 to 31 mpg in all types of driving.

But there’s a problem. Beginning with the 2008 model year, the Highlander Hybrid was redesigned. It’s bigger, has curvier lines, and lots of modest updates. But the base model with a mid-range package of add-ons (stuff I’m deeming that most people want) starts at $40,000. When I configure the 2008 Highlander Hybrid as close to the way my wife and I bought the 2007 model (without DVD nav and DVD entertainment), Toyota wants a whopping $45,000 for the Camry-derivative cross-over hybrid. The Highlander Hybrid is no longer that great a value. A few phone calls and a trip to a few dealers in my area informed me that Toyota is having no trouble selling its more expensive Highlander Hybrid, either. So they’re very hard to find. I credit the precipitous rise in gas prices for that.

The 2008 Ford Escape (gas only) didn’t fare well in CR’s tests. It got dinged for poor brakes (something I can’t abide), poor acceleration, fit and finish issues, and low owner satisfaction. The one area that the Ford Escape excels is price. Tricked out with about 75% of the options (not the expensive DVD navigation package, though), the Ford Escape Hybrid is about $31,000. The Escape design is dated and due for a major upgrade. This vehicle might well be worth a close look when Ford gets around to its next major redesign.

Fuel-efficient vehicles designed for the people-mover role are few and far between, and you pay dearly for them. The best gasoline-powered minivans get only about 20 mpg in mixed driving, and I’m not aware of any hybrid vehicle in that class.

The Hybrid Downside No One Talks About

Having owned a hybrid-electric vehicle for the better part of a year, there’s one downside to the technology that I haven’t read about anywhere. When the central New England winter months rolled in, the gas-mileage efficiency went down. You need heat in the cabin and battery bank doesn’t hold its charge as well in the cold; both of those conditions require the gasoline engine to run more frequently. It may be more obvious in a marginally effective hybrid like our mid-size SUV. But bottom line, our average gas mileage plummeted to 24-25 mpg from December to March. It’s something the dealer won’t tell you.

Nevertheless, with crude oil prices over $130 per barrel, I’m giving strong consideration to buying a second, far more efficient hybrid vehicle. Since giving up my 1995 Nissan to my 16-year-old in December, my daily driver is a four-year-old Toyota Tundra pickup that I bought during the eight-year period when I worked out of my home. Even though I have a short commute, it’s time to either put the pickup in low-cost storage or sell it to someone who has an actual reason to drive one.

In case you hadn’t gathered, I’m strongly leaning toward a Prius. It’s possible to buy a stripped-down 2008 model for as little as $23,500. I lived through the first gas crisis in 1973 and I worked as a very young gas-station attendant during the gas panic of 1979. It probably won’t be as bad as the first oil crisis, but it’s at least possible that we could be heading for something like that. The time to prepare for such an event is before it happens.

I don’t mean to be alarmist (though some of you will probably take it that way), but people should be considering moving closer to their jobs, checking out their public transportation options, carpooling, finding nearby shopping, selecting daycare that isn’t on the other side of town, and so on. The cost of transportation has become a bigger part of your overall expenses already. Managing that cost is important for all of us — especially if inflation of other goods continues to rise. It’s much harder to moderate consumption of items like food, childcare, clothing, shelter, and staple goods.

I’m very interested in your experiences, insights, knowledge, and opinions about the best strategies for dealing with the rising prices of oil, gasoline, and diesel fuel with respect to our homes and vehicles. I’m also interested in knowledgeable insights from people educated in the fields related to automotive technologies that might be used in the future. For example, research and talk about plug-in hybrid electric vehicles is all the rage, but as near as I can tell we’re going to need some significant breakthroughs before that’s going to be viable. Besides, if your electric bill is anything like mine, I’m not sure how much advantage that’s going to be. What’s the truth? Please post comments or send me email.

I also managed to anger a whole ton of people with my comments about climate change being — to my mind — man-made. Almost no one wrote me to disagree that we’re experiencing climate change; but many SFNL readers wrote to tell me that global warming is not caused by the significantly increased CO2 levels generated in part by humanity. OK, well, everyone is entitled to their opinion. My concern is that the polar ice cap is melting, and we’re standing around debating whose fault it is. My tendency is to focus on solving the problem.

I’m happy to report that another huge batch of readers wrote to tell me that they, too, have purchased a hybrid gas/electric vehicle of some sort. Interestingly, though, a lot of people also wrote to tell me hybrids aren’t really the answer. Of course they’re not the last word. They still burn nonrenewable resources, don’t they? The point many were trying to make is that the complexity and weight involved with internal combustion/electric hybrid vehicles makes them imperfect — especially as replacements for larger vehicles. They also make small vehicles heavier with their battery packs. This is all true. It’s the engineering trade-off for a vehicle that has two means of propelling itself. But that doesn’t change the fact that even my wife’s relatively heavy Toyota Highlander Hybrid gets better gas mileage than its lighter nonhybrid Highlander brandmates. It also gets nearly two times the miles per gallon delivered by the SUV it replaces in the Finnie household. And it generates fewer harmful emissions.

The truth is, there’s a lot of cult-like support out there for this or that kind of automotive technology. Some pundits hate hybrid technology and prefer diesel. Others say that hydrogen can’t be done — and it’s true that a number of issues have to be solved before hydrogen has its day, if it ever does. There are even wild alternative approaches bouncing around the Internet, like “burning” saltwater (video). (I’m told this isn’t a hoax, but I have no way to prove that.) Or how about pouring water over aluminum alloy to generate hydrogen? Then there’s the ever popular engineered egg shells generating hydrogen.

I’m not saying these are proven technologies nor am I intending to make fun of them. A certain amount of experimentation will be required before good ideas are adopted and strung together to make a usable solution. People scoffed at the internal combustion engine in its infancy too.

Clean Diesel in the U.S.
European markets are way, way ahead of the U.S. marketplace in at least one way. Until recently, the dirty diesel fuel sold here with its inconsistent cetane ratings caused diesel engines to run with excessive noise and vibration, emit more noxious fumes, and experience hard starting in cold weather. European standards had been much better than U.S. standards. So much so that diesel engines designed for European markets didn’t do well on U.S. diesel without modification — making it expensive for automakers to sell diesel-engine vehicles in North America.

But last year, the U.S. began the adoption of ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD), which is roughly comparable to the diesel fuel sold in much of Europe. ULSD on its own doesn’t solve the emissions problem. Cleaning up diesel’s mess requires exhaust-control devices, such as catalytic converters, that would have been hampered by the high sulfur levels of the previous-generation diesel fuel sold in the U.S.

Many SFNL readers wrote to ask me why I didn’t include diesel as a competitor to hybrid technology in the U.S. Simply put, it’s very hard to buy a new diesel automobile in the U.S. that isn’t either a truck or a very expensive luxury car. Many of these models also aren’t rated to get dramatically better fuel mileage than their gasoline-powered counterparts. What’s known as “clean diesel” technology is on its way, but it’s not going to be here for another year or two, and it’s not going to be as serious as hybrid technology already is in the U.S. for another four to five years.

I’ve been watching diesel for a long time. It costs more in the U.S. right now than regular gasoline, but that might change if there were more demand. Many of the engines now being designed to address the Clean Diesel initiative in North America will also be able to accept at least a percentage of biodiesel, which as its names implies, is generated from a renewable resource: vegetable oil. Clean diesel and biodiesel are excellent alternatives to hybrid technology, but it’s not all there yet. ULSD and biodiesel burning in today’s diesel engines emit particulate matter and high levels of nitrogen oxides. These things can be addressed at least in part by pollution-control technologies, but in the U.S., clean diesel engines are only just beginning to emerge.

DieselForum.org has a list diesel vehicles under development, many of which are designed to get better fuel mileage and reduced emissions. Audi and Volkswagen have very strong offerings in Europe, and the two makers have near-term plans to ship their advanced TDI diesel vehicles to the U.S. in the near future.

Because I’m the practical type: The VW Jetta SportWagen TDI, due in 2008, is one of the models I’m partial to.

The Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen

For more info about Volkswagen’s diesel plans, which include a new small SUV called the Tiguan, the Passat, and the Jetta sedan, check out this January 2007 press release.

Another vehicle I’ve got my eye on is the 2010 Honda Accord. Honda is said to be working on clean diesel 4- and 6-cylinder engines for the U.S. market. The automaker is expected to deliver a clean diesel Accord model by 2010, according to CNET.

Both VW and Honda are pledging to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions significantly in their forthcoming diesel engines. Both will meet the toughest emissions standards in both the U.S. and Europe.

It’s not clear to me that biodiesel is the future, but the fact that it’s one of the few fuels, like ethanol, that’s renewable is encouraging. Improvements to diesel emissions, the advent of biodiesel, and the fact that the diesel engine is more efficient than the gasoline engine are all strong pluses. Even so, my guess is that diesel-powered automobiles are still a transitional solution.

We’re still in search of a better, cleaner, renewable way to power the world’s automobiles. And we have a long way to go.

What followed the opinion piece was an intriguing bevy of email from Scot’s Newsletter readers both agreeing and disagreeing with my viewpoint. Many of the messages I received were from people who work as engineers and scientists in the power and automobile industries.

One of the more common refrains was that hydrogen/oxygen-based fuel-cell-powered automobiles just aren’t a realistic alternative. I disagreed, and still disagree — but I recognize that hydrogen has several hurdles to leap. We’re certainly a long way from being able to just switch to hydrogen-based fuel-cell vehicles.

One of the advantages of hydrogen is that it’s the most abundantly available chemical element in the universe. Stars and gaseous planets contain high quantities of hydrogen, but very little gaseous hydrogen remains naturally in our atmosphere. Of course, water is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, creating the most abundant molecule on the Earth’s surface. So, to become a readily available fuel source, hydrogen would have to be produced through some sort of thermo, electrical, or chemical process requiring a power source. The most probable process would be to break down water to unleash its hydrogen.

According to an article in the October 2007 issue of Consumer Reports, hydrogen is currently produced primarily by burning natural gas to heat water, although using electricity for the same purpose is another possibility. Neither method is ideal, since both deplete nonrenewable resources today. In many parts of the U.S., electricity is made by burning coal or petroleum. We’re a long, long way from being able to use electricity derived from solar or wind power to generate hydrogen. On the other hand, we’ve got a much better chance of figuring out how to do this more efficiently in, say, 30 years than anything else on the horizon.

The need for another power source to generate hydrogen is its most important shortcoming. If we conquer the first problem, the next-biggest issue is significant but by no means insurmountable. According to Consumer Reports, there are only 44 hydrogen filling stations in the U.S. In order to make any switch to hydrogen a reality, we would have to overhaul our automobile support infrastructure, something that isn’t going to happen overnight.

But consumer demand could accelerate the process. What if oil were $150 a barrel in today’s dollars? What if gasoline were $10 a gallon? If our technology improves enough that we can produce hydrogen in sufficient quantities, using significantly less nonrenewable resources, with cleaner processes, and at a clear cost savings to the consumer (meaning that the cost of fuel-cell autos weren’t too much higher than gas-powered ones and hydrogen’s cost per mile were less than that of gasoline), the transformation of the infrastructure would occur rapidly, perhaps in as short as a decade.

None of those suppositions is impossible, either. We have the technology now to make fuel-cell vehicles go. Current hydrogen fuel-cell test vehicles deliver power at an acceptable rate, according to Consumer Reports. Higher pressure hydrogen tanks are under development that will increase driving range and reduce the size of the tanks. They use batteries, like hybrid vehicles, and although battery advancement moves slowly, the demand for batteries is skyrocketing worldwide. A smaller, lighter battery technology could be an important breakthrough for hydrogen-based cars. Finally, fuel-cells are an efficient source of power, and they’re liable to become more efficient, smaller, lighter, safer, and much less expensive as several manufacturers compete to produce them.

Fuel cells also convert hydrogen and oxygen into electricity without harming the environment. The primary byproducts of the fuel-cell process are heat and water, so it’s very clean. Several automakers have hydrogen-based fuel-cell prototypes, including Chevrolet, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes, Nissan, and Toyota. Consumer Reports points out that General Motors and Honda will soon be placing more than 125 fuel-cell cars into the hands of U.S. consumers to use on a trial basis in California, New York, and Washington D.C.

I have not been behind every initiative of the Bush administration, but this one makes sense to me. Our government has pumped major money into developing both the technology and infrastructure to support fuel-cell automobiles. Right now, it’s our best alternative. While I don’t expect it to arrive in earnest much before two decades from now, fuel-cell vehicles are probably our best hope for reducing our dependence on petroleum.

In the meantime, hybrid electric/gas-powered vehicles are the next best alternative. If you can afford to buy one when making your next car purchase, I urge you to do so.

Dovetailing with Today’s Hybrids
With all this in mind, my wife, Cyndy, and I recently bought a 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. The well-designed midsize SUV combines a 3.3-liter V6 gas engine with two electric motors (it’s all-wheel drive), a continuously variable transmission, and a nickel-metal-hydride battery. Although our new Highlander has less than 1,000 miles on it, Cyndy has already managed to drive it up to 34 miles per gallon on her way to and from work. The EPA rating is 31 mpg around town and 27 mpg on the highway. Cyndy’s route to work is all back roads, where hybrid vehicles excel on gas mileage, but 34 mpg is pretty good.

It’s not just about fuel savings either. The Highlander Hybrid is classified as a SULEV (super ultra low emission vehicle), meaning that it produces far less harmful emissions. Given our clear problem with global warming, whatever any of us can do to clean up our acts is important.

For those of you who doubt that the climate change we’re experiencing is man made, I think you’ve most likely been taken in by the powerful lobbies of vested interests, which include some corporations that like things the way they are. Global warming is real. It’s dangerous. And it’s time we did something about it.

Back to my little part of the world. Downsizing as my wife and I did from a large gas-guzzling SUV to the Toyota Highlander Hybrid is only painful in the money department. In other words, Toyota’s design makes excellent use of the available space, but at a price. So when we learned the redesigned 2008 Highlander Hybrid (due out in a month or two) would be significantly more expensive, I pressed forward very rapidly to grab the 2007 vehicle we bought — it was the only 2007 Highlander Hybrid my dealer could find in my area that met our requirements.

The Highlander is among the more expensive hybrids on the market, but Honda and Toyota both offer less expensive hybrids (the Civic Hybrid and Prius) that sell for around $23K to $26K. Honda is discontinuing its Accord Hybrid for 2008, but the recently designed Toyota Camry Hybrid is a superbly designed vehicle with a spacious interior that sells for $31K fully equipped. Whenever I can afford it, I hope to buy a second, smaller hybrid vehicle.

From a driving perspective, the Highlander Hybrid is a delight. It’s got plenty of power (this model splits the electric advantage between fuel savings and performance). The Highlander starts in silence and takes off on battery power unless you floor it. The gas engine takes over at about 12 miles per hour on level ground. Going up a hill or under heavy acceleration, motive power combines the gas engine and electric motor, although usually for only brief periods of time. When you coast or brake, the battery is charged by the turning wheels.

I’ve driven the Toyota Prius, Camry Hybrid, and Highlander Hybrid. They all work roughly the same way. If you want to drive them as if they’re conventional gas-powered vehicles, you can. The only pronounced difference is the sounds they make. This is especially true of the Highlander Hybrid. The power is always there if you want it. The Camry and Prius are optimized for gas savings over power. Neither is a barn burner, although the Camry has plenty of power.

Many people who own hybrid vehicles — especially the Toyota models — have found that driving for fuel efficiency becomes something of a pleasant game. Toyota offers graphical indicators that tell you how your hybrid’s engine is working at any given moment (coasting-charging, operating on battery, operating on gas engine, and so on). It also gives you a real-time readout of your gas mileage. There’s something about having all this information at your fingertips that makes you want to drive your vehicle to save gas. It becomes very obvious to you right away that the way you drive plays an important role in how efficiently your car gets you from point A to point B.

The 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid has a new set of features, including several operational modes that vary the way it drives, including an acceleration-smoothing economy mode. You can even set it to disable the gas engine entirely, although the batteries will only last a short time, according to Toyota’s press release. I have yet to try it, but it seems to be on the way to something I’ve wished for on hybrid models — a simple driver-selectable, three-position switch that offers Economy, Mixed Driving (the default), and Performance modes.

To wrap this all up: If hydrogen-based fuel-cell vehicles are, in fact, the future of automobiles, then the gas/electric hybrid vehicle of today represent a baby step toward that goal. The sooner automakers and motorists become more familiar with the use of stored electricity and electric motors to provide motive power for cars, the easier the transition will be to future technologies, such as fuel cells.

Because petroleum is a limited resource, we have a necessity that requires invention. The only sure way to get there is to start by accepting the need and working toward a solution. No one knows exactly when the oil will run out. The problem is, it may take a lot longer than we have to fully free ourselves from the need for this form of power. We have to reduce our usage of this nonrenewable resource as soon as we can — to give ourselves more time to figure it out. Right now, with newly industrializing countries around the globe beginning to emerge, we’re going in the opposite direction. It’s time for a change.

To sound off about this topic to me, please use this email link.

Some Sources:

• Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Periodic Elements – Hydrogen
• U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen, Fuel Cells & Infrastructure Technologies Program
• Consumer Reports – The Ultimate Green Machine
• Consumer Reports – Hydrogen: A Long Wait