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What Are Automobile Buyers Buying Today?

To understand the explosive changes happening, driven not by Government Regulation, but buy the realities of a fixed income - whether it is fixed at $30,000 a year or fixed at $150,000 a year, you need to do some good old fashined arithmetic, and expand on that with some trend calculations.

Simple explanation: Budget for Auto = 25% of Income.
Auto includes: (1) Acquisition, (2) Operation, (3) Support, and (3) Maintenance.

Travelers First to Implement a National Discounted Insurance Product Specifically for Hybrid Vehicle Owners
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  1. Aquisition (Cost of Buying + Taxes + Fees + Interest Rates). Cars don't get cheaper, taxes don't go down, Fees are added, and Interest rates have already bottomed out, and are not likely to go so low again!
  2. Operation: the simple fact of the unit of energy cost has risen over 50% in 1 year, is but a taste of where it is going in the next year. Someone has to pay for the multiples of wars, the fuels used in those wars, and loss of weapons, equipment, and personnell, legal fees, and so on. Gas is getting it in the Rear in Spades! With Canadian Gas at 75 to 95 Cents a litre, and well on its way to breaching a $1 mark by July, Gas is becoming more noticed each week buy drivers, owners, and consummers.
  3. Support: Car Insurance - one of those things we wish not to deal with, but depend on when something goes wrong, and which also turns and bits us when the sorst happens. This cost is continuing to increase at explosive rates in Ontario with the normal rates doubling and trippling for the majority of drivers.
  4. Maintenance: A fact of life for an old car, but not elliminated buy the purchase of a new car, as Accidents, Abuse, and Mis-use all lead to un-covered expenses. Add to this the increasing fees required to deal with more complex vehicle systems to train shop workers to acceptable standards, and you end up with more increases in standard shop rates.

Consider that Car Insurance can in some cases equal the annual payment costs for a car, and that fuel costs can even exceed that, and you can see why the one thing people can hope to change is the fuel portion cost - and that by changing their vehicle choice.

There are a number of highly efficient vehicles available - but - you can not often find them to even go for a test drive! this means that Dealers do not even believe in the benefits of having such vehicles around for their own use, let alone - for demonstration to the potential buyer. There is fast approaching a tipping point in the price of fuel where more than 5% of the buyers will change their choice of vehicles based on this one point alone, and then another point where an additional 10% will change their decision, and so on. As the fuel portion of the equation accelerates, dealers will soon be caught un-able to provide for the customer, as they will not be ready with any inventory!

Below are some articles that explain points of this exposition:
News Articles     Web Sites
Oli-Rich Alberta Embraces Solar Power - EDMONTON, Alberta, June 30, 2006 Environmental News Service
Where the Cars Run on Sugar Cane - Could America Run on Corn? soultek.com
Power, Plugs and People - June 14, 2006: Toyota Warms Up to PHEVs -- Or Not EAA-PHEV.org
Toyota doubling hybrid model range - Posted Jun 13th 2006 autoblog.com
China's Cyclists Take Charge - Electric Bicycles are selling by the Millions soultek.com
MSN Money - May 7, 2004: Gas Prices Make Car Shoppers Change Their Minds Electric Vehicles International
MSN News and Advice: If Less is More, can Smaller be Smarter? Turbonator.com
EV World News: Two-Wheel or Not Two-Wheel? AC Propulsion
EV World News: Time to Leapfrog Hybrids ZAP World
EV World News: Some new Prius owners ordering cars before even driving them GreenerCars.com
WWF Learning: Towards the ultimate eco-car? hybridcars.com
Mercury News: Gas prices hit record in state, U.S. eliica.com
EV World News: Hybrid Sales at Critical Point drivingthefuture.com
EV World News: Defeating Oil Solectria
EV World News: Windpower on the Verge Electro Automotive Electric Car Conversions
IAGS: Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles Homepower.com
EPRI: Outlook Promising for Advanced Batteries for Electric Vehicles Feel Good Cars
ZAP Newsroom: Save Gas, Save Money, Buy A ZAP Electric Car CalCars (Kudos)
Spectrum Online: The Smart Hybrid - DaimlerChrysler's plug-in hybrid electric Van Car Stuff
EV World News: Eliica: Eight-wheeled Wonder 40mpg.org
CalCars: All About Plug-in Hybrids (PHEVs) Solarcogeneration.com
EV World News: Renault Electric Kangoo Can Do Sustainablebusiness.com
EV Rental-GREEN GARAGE: Study Says Plugged-In Cars Now Have a Built-In Market
emagazine.com: It’s Electric! Two Wheels and a Plug-In Motor
NBC Columbus: Demand For Popular Hybrid Cars Increase
Capital News: Buyers turning to fuel-efficient cars
Silican Valley Business Journal: Costs of electric-drive cars could near conventional cars
Austin Business Journal: Cap Metro plugs in to hybrid cars
TwinCities: A passion fueled by mileage
The Journal Times: Hybrid drivers may enjoy the last laugh
Forbes.com: Price-At-Pump Whining Gets Louder
Solar Access.com: Hybrid Electric Vehicle Registrations up 25.8%
ToledoBlade.com: Soaring gasoline prices drive interest in hybrid cars, area dealers report
Billings Gazzette.com: Couple revved up over new hybrid car (Honda Insight)
Channel 5 Oklahoma: Hybrid Cars Selling Quickly In Metro
DaytonaBeach News: Gas prices have consumers waiting in line for hybrids
Montgomery Alabama wsfa.com: Hybrid Cars Help Motorists Save on Gasoline
The Desert Sun: Consumers urged to trade in gas mowers for electric
Eau Claire: Electric Demand: Drivers Wait for Hybrids
Hot Hybrids: Fuel Efficient, Environmentally Friendly and No Plug Needed
Electrifying Transportation: Georgia Tech is helping design the electric and electric-hybrid vehicles of tomorrow
Toyota Expands Hybrid Lineup with Minivan
What If You Had to Build a Socially Responsible SUV?

If you don't think it's good to use a Hybrid car today, under what conditions whould it make sence for you to switch from your current vehicle to the Insight, Civic, or Prius? How about the Hybrid Sierra or Silverado?

Some shortcuts - websites listing Gas Prices: www.ontariogasprices.com and www.gasbuddy.com

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