Fuel barons aren
’t the only ones cashing in on constantly rising gas prices, the
price of petrol has also created a new market for local car dealers
who can barely keep fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles in stock.
Fuel barons aren’t the only ones cashing in on constantly rising gas prices, the price of petrol has also created a new market for local car dealers who can barely keep fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles in stock.
Morgan Hill’s new Ford Store is the only dealership in the city currently offering hybrid vehicles which operate on a combination of gas and electric powered engines to increase fuel economy. Regionally, however, numerous dealers offer the fuel-efficient vehicles to a growing consumer market. Chevrolet will have a hybrid in 2006.
Ford Store General Manager Jerry Feldman said it has been difficult to keep their hybrid sport utility vehicle, the Ford Escape Hybrid, on the lot.
“They have been extremely, extremely popular,” Feldman said. “They will sell even without rebates.”
Although hybrids represented less than 1 percent of the 17 million new vehicles sold last year, the U.S. hybrid market has grown by more than 960 percent since 2000, when 7,781 were sold, according to data released in May by the Southfield, Mich.-based firm R.L. Polk & Co.
Morgan Hill residents have purchased at least 10 Toyota Priuses, the biggest selling hybrid vehicle on the market, and two Honda Accord Hybrids in May according to the Cross-Sell Report, an auto industry database that tracks vehicle sales.
Feldman said the Escape Hybrid has typically sold within two days of becoming available, creating a waiting list for fuel-conscious consumers.
Morgan Hill resident Jerry Malone has owned a hybrid since 2001 and said he’s been happy with the vehicle’s performance and delighted by the extended gas mileage. His biggest complaint: There’s not enough leg room.
Aside from the space issue, however, Malone said he loves everything else about the car, which he had to wait about two months for when the hybrids first entered the market five years ago.
The wait was worth it, he said.
Malone said he can travel to Sacramento and back on only a half tank of gas and the vehicle handles like a sports car to boot.
Best of all, Malone said his Prius gets better than 50 miles to the gallon. He also owns a Toyota Rav4, which gets close to 30 miles to the gallon.
While Malone said the gas mileage was a huge plus, he was even more impressed with the car’s design.
“I have never had to take my car for repairs, except for the 30,000 and 60,000 mile scheduled maintenance,” Malone said.
Rosemary Kamei, a board member for the Santa Clara Valley Water District and San Martin resident, purchased her Prius in February, after waiting four months. When she signed up, there were 29 others ahead of her on the waiting list – far shorter than the San Jose dealership she first tried.
Before buying the vehicle, she checked out the hype by renting one for a weekend and driving to Yosemite National Park. She said she only used one tank of gas for the entire 550-mile round trip. That sold her on the Prius, which she purchased for $27,000. That figure is at the upper end of the price range, which can go as low as $22,000, depending on the options.
“I was willing to pay more because it is environmentally friendly,” Kamei said. “And the fact that I can get gas efficiency was on top of everything else. I used to spend $50 to $60 a week on gas. Now I spend about $20 a week. It is so cool.”
The Ford Escape, the first hybrid SUV, starts at $26,830, Feldman said, and can go as high as $32,000, depending on the options. The regular Escape costs around $21,000.
The hybrid version boasts 36 miles to the gallon in the city and 31 on the highway. By comparison, the regular Escape gets about 22 miles in the city and 25 on the highway. Feldman noted the hybrid even has better gas mileage than the Ford Focus, which gets 26 miles in the city and 35 on the highway.
Feldman said the Escape performs like a V6, which makes the vehicle very popular.
“It has been extremely well received by the public,” Feldman said. “It has a great fuel economy with very little performance penalty.”
Unlike regular gas engine cars, hybrids get better mileage in the city than on the highway. Rich Furtado, Internet fleet manager for Gavilan Honda in Gilroy, said the difference is in the electric engine. When the car comes to a complete stop, an auto-stop system engages and the gas engine shuts off.
As a result, the car runs on electric power and requires less gas.
Furtado said the Honda Accord hybrid will close the gap a little more with an engine that shuts off three of its six cylinders when a certain speed is reached.
Less clear is whether the savings in gas costs justify the added expense on hybrids’ sticker price.
A low-emission Toyota Corolla that gets 40 miles per gallon costs $5,000 less than a Prius, which gets 61 miles per gallon in the city and 52 miles per gallon on the highway, according to Wright. The gas-only models of the Accord and Civic sell for $27,365 and $17,175, respectively, while their hybrid counterparts cost $3,000 to $4,000 more. The hybrid versions get an additional 10 to 20 miles per gallon.
“There is a price differential and it will take approximately four-and-a-half, five years to offset that differential,” said Mark Baines, a sales manager at Gavilan Honda in Gilroy. “As a consumer, you want to do your homework and make sure you’re either environmentally conscious or that you’re doing sufficient driving to merit the cost.”
Cheeto Barrera is an intern at the Morgan Hill Times. He can be reached at cb******@mo*************.com.
