Can Hybrid Cars Catch On?
N E W Y O R K, April 25 -- One car. Two engines. Sixty-eight miles per gallon.
That's what you'll get — in theory, at least — if you own an Insight, Honda's environmentally friendly two-seater sports car with a hybrid gas-and-electric engine. And you could get mileage in that neighborhood with the Toyota Prius, a four-door sedan that runs the same way.
The two cars represent the first vehicles of their kind to be sold in the United States, and could be an increasingly frequent sight on America's roads and highways.
See a Slidehow of Electric Hybrid Vehicles
And while all-electric cars have flopped before in the U.S. market before, these vehicles are different, using a combination of electricity and internal combustion.
Unlike previous electric-powered experiments, they don't have to be re-charged — the car's generator does that when the batteries run low — a handy feature for California drivers during one of the state's increasingly common rolling blackouts.
But Will They Catch On?
For motorists concerned about the environment or high gas prices, the attraction of the Prius or Insight is their excellent gas mileage. Toyota claims the Prius gets 52 miles per gallon in cities and 45 on the highway — in part because of the way it conserves energy when at a halt. Consumer Reports magazine says it got 41 mpg when testing the car.
The smaller Insight is advertised at 61 to 68 miles per gallon, although Car and Driver reports that it got 47.
Honda says it has sold nearly 5,000 Insights in a little more than a year, with more than 400 moving in March, the highest total yet. But that's still the second-lowest figure among Honda's 14 models available in the United States.
By comparison, the company's best-selling car, the Accord, moved almost 38,000 units in March.
Toyota spokesman Wade Hoyt says the carmaker has more orders for the Prius than it can fill. The company is importing 1,000 a month from Japan and is elling them all, with sales particulary high in Southern California and the Pacific Northwest.
