Monday, December 10, 2007

I'm ready to buy my PHEV Plug-in hybrid. Where is it?

Ok, I'm ready to trade in my Mercury Mountaineer SUV and buy my plug-in electric hybrid. I'll even settle for a Chevy Volt.

Who will sell me one?

Apparently, the vehicles that I and so many others are waiting for are still a couple of years off. Honda says its ready to mass produce a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, if only a national fueling infrastructure existed. I'll even consider one of those.

More than a decade after the Insight and Prius were launched, Toyota and Honda still appear to be the only "real" hybrid plays with credible product for sale. Although GM and Ford offer a couple of token vehicles that carry a hybrid sticker, the incremental benefit is puny. When I think hybrid, want a 40 MPH+ vehicle, not a Malibu that gets another 1 or 2 MPG.

I will buy a PHEV vehicle from the first car company that makes it practical to own one. I am ready to make the leap. Who is serious about meeting this need? Which company will win my loyalty for the next 20 years by bring to market what I want to buy? Where's my car?

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