The upcoming hybrid sports car, the Fisker Karma, contains wood trim retrieved from California’s wildfires and free-range cattle leather. For the careful consumer, these unique features just may help justify the automobile’s nearly $90,000 price tag—these and the 6-second 0 to 60 acceleration, that is.
Mercedes will enter the hybrid market with the 2010 S400 Hybrid, a 295-horsepower luxury vehicle and potentially the first hybrid with a lithium-ion battery. Unlike a likely rival, Lexus’ LS 600h, Mercedes says the S400 will not compromise trunk space to make room for its battery.
It’s no surprise to hear that the slump in hybrid car sales in the past year is in large part due to the drop in gas prices. But what may not be as well-known is that hybrid consumer websites are also spinning their wheels. Fewer related searches on Google and other major search engines has led to a decline in web traffic to major online resources.
ZoomiLife reports that Mazda—officially—will not be developing hybrid or electric cars. In a press release, the automaker expressed its intention to develop more efficient vehicles using conventional technology. Will this spell trouble for Mazda, or might this be feasible strategy?
According to ultra-conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh:
The Ford and Honda hybrids due out this month are among dozens planned for the coming years as automakers try to meet new fuel-efficiency standards and please politicians overseeing the industry’s multibillion-dollar bailout.” Nobody’s buying ‘em! Nobody wants them! The manufacturers are making them in droves to satisfy Obama! Sorry for yelling. Nobody wants them! The Prius is supported by the Toyota Tundra and the whole Lexus division ’cause it loses money. Nobody wants them! The only people that have them — well, I’m not going to characterize them — but there aren’t that many.
Obama? Really??
Most ambitious (and financially viable) of America’s Big Three automakers is Ford, which plans to release several electric and plug-in hybrid cars in the years to come. The key hurdle for now, Ford claims, is the high cost of large batteries suitable for such vehicles. It may also be smart for consumers to install new electrical outlets in their homes that are more suitable for electric transport. Is the United States ready for Ford’s big plans?
