"Owning a hybrid is all about saying 'Look at what I'm doing for the world'," says auto analyst John Wolkonowicz of Global Insight. "If you can't say that, the whole purchase is a waste of time."
So, why are so many buying the Camry hybrid? How many more would be buying the Camry hybrid if the full hybrid tax credit was available?
Just because Wolkonowicz has a small-minded personality that equates success with materialism doesn't mean all people do. John might not get it, but some people buy non-Prius hybrid vehicles because they believe in the technology and want to support it, not because they are trying to preach to the world.
When Camry hybrid, Highlander hybrid, Escape hybrid, Altima hybrid and Civic hybrid customers are combined, they make up a pretty significant percentage of hybrid buyers, around 50 percent in fact. So, half of all hybrid buyers are just 'wasting time'?
Maybe it's John's superficial insights into hybrid buyers that are the waste of time.
When it comes to the Prius, it's more fuel efficient than any other hybrid. It's cheaper than any other Toyota hybrid. Its design offers a huge amount of cargo space for a small car, especially when the back seats can be put down. More important, you can't compare its cost-effectiveness against its conventional counterpart - a non-hybrid Prius doesn't exist.
None of that matters to Prius buyers? Such an assumption is just plain clueless.
Labels: Hybrid Vehicles, toyota prius
Source: http://www.hybridcarblog.com/2007/08/global-insight-analyst-without-clue-on.html
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