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Hi folks, I hope those of you in the D.C.-area who were buried like I was in the double-blizzard-special are finally dug out, and ready for Spring. (Hey, Spring Training has started in Florida and Arizona, so it can’t be too far away, can it?) Last month there was a lot of reaction to our new Hybrid Scorecard that I want to talk about, and I can’t forget to mention the elephant in the room—Toyota.
On to it,
Scott Nathanson
UCS National Field Organizer &
HybridCenter.org Administrator
In this issue:
 Well, in a word, the reaction to our Hybrid Scorecard has been—great. My thanks to all of you who helped spread the word about our new resource. The vast majority of the top auto blogs and sites across the web wrote about it, and that, along with the numerous comments we got right on the Scorecard itself, allowed us to get a sense of how our information was being seen and used.
To me, the Hybrid Scorecard has, thus far, done the precise job it was intended to do—namely give the public a full view of how hybrid technology is really working on the market today. This has spurred an open and really good debate about what people really value in hybrid technology. If you want to take a pass at all the back-and-forth on the web, I suggest you Google “Hybrid Scorecard.” There’s lots of good stuff to choose from.
If you’d rather not take that tour, I thought I’d take on a couple of the larger points people have been raising so far about the scorecard and give the UCS view.
 It was funny that shortly after we released the Scorecard, John Stewart did a great piece on the hyperbole that online news sources sometimes levy on more reasoned commentary. I must admit that I felt a bit like that after seeing some of the headlines from the coverage our Scorecard received. Some of the top pieces in this regard were the Big Money’s “How Your Hybrid Rips You Off” Forbes’ “Green Car Ripoffs” and Green Car Reports’ “New Hybrid Scorecard Slams Carmakers For Loading On Luxury.” Much of the substance of these articles is good, but they do go a little overboard in concluding what the scorecard actually reveals.
As you can tell by the titles, these articles are very much focused on the Forced Features part of our scorecard. But I felt that a lot of people really missed the main point in showing the difference between the costs of the hybrid drivetrain and the cost of the Forced Features. While some articles insinuated that our conlcusion was that the hybrid add-ons make going hybrid a ripoff, our take was quite the contrary. Making that “apples to apples” comparison with conventional models, one could really see how cost-effective hybrid drivetrains could be in all vehicle classes.
It’s not that we think that all hybrids should be bare-bones—frankly very few consumers buy bare-bones versions of any car—but that option needs to be available in order to expand the market. Case-in-point is this comment from Prius owner Christine Urich Wallick on TreeHugger:
We got a base model Prius and we love it. The first dealer told us that they don't make a base model and we would have to get one of the packages with all the stuff that I just saw as things our son would break. We went on to another dealer and they had several base model units in stock. We were very happy with the price we got on our Prius, in fact my dad who also bought a base model Prius was jealous of the price we got ours for as he had to pay more for his.
 Indeed, I think Toyota, for all its current other issues, has made a good decision by introducing a “Trim 1” model with $1,000 less in Forced Features and making it available by request. This will give the consumer that really wants to invest extra dollars in better fuel economy and reduced emissions the option of doing so, but does not run the risk of misreading the market for today’s mainstream hybrid buyer (like the ones who wait around to make sure they can get a solar roof, for example). It also gives the additional advantage of allowing the Prius to drop $1,000 off its base MSRP, giving dealers added opportunities to tout the value of going hybrid, but then trying to get the customer to “buy up” to higher trim levels that they have in stock.
To my mind, not having the base-level hybrid option limits automakers’ opportunities to expand this market, which is both bad for business and bad for the environment. My hope is that while some articles have taken a bit of an extreme view of what the forced features mean, now that this information is out there, the automakers will respond by allowing consumers more power to choose where to invest their car-buying dollars.
A number of comments spoke about the weaker-than-expected Insight sales proving why automakers shouldn’t bother with “bare bones” versions of their hybrids. But this assertion is missing a point about the 2010 Insight that we make clear in the Insight’s scorecard page. First off, while the Insight can come feature-free, it offers three trim levels, so consumers do have the ability to trick it out. So the Insight fell short not because it skimped on features, but because it provided only a 24 percent reduction in global warming emissions as compared to the Honda Fit.
 When it comes to compact cars, people are looking for maximum mileage, especially if they are going to have to sacrifice both cargo room and passenger space, as the Insight does to the Fit. Add onto that the fact that for around $3,000 more, you can get a larger car with 50mpg in the Prius, and you have a recipe for a vehicle being squeezed out on both ends.
So if you look at all the elements in the scorecard, you can see that while the Insight offers no forced features, it also offers only medium hybrid value, and a rather lackluster 6.8 environmental score. I believe this speaks volumes to why consumers are not flocking to this vehicle despite the attraction of a 40+ mpg vehicle for $20,000.
To me, you have to look at all three scores to really get the full Hybrid Scorecard value. Only then do you get a full, accurate picture on each vehicle and where they can be improved in order to offer more to the consumer.
As always, I’m happy to hear your feedback on our scorecard and all other things hybrid. So drop me a note, and thanks once again for helping the Hybrid Scorecard make such a great initial splash.
- Toyota recalls 437,000 hybrids worldwide: After several complaints about the brakes on the 2010 Prius and 2010 Lexus HS 250h, Toyota has issued a worldwide recall. While driving on icy or bumpy roads, many drivers experience a delay when they first apply the brakes. Toyota reports the delay is not a brake failure, but a problem with the software that oversees the controls of the antilock brakes. Toyota sent letters to the hybrid owners alerting them to this problem and asking them to bring in their vehicle to a Toyota dealer. It takes about 30 minutes for them to download and install the software update, and fix the problem. Toyota has already made the fix on all models produced since late January. Of course, this issue with these hybrids is just a drop-in-the-bucket compared with what the company is going through as a whole right now. More on Toyota's challenges at the Hybrid News Center.
 California to help in purchasing of heavy-duty hybrid trucks and buses: The California Air Resources Board has begun a $20 million funding assistance program to help spur the purchase of heavy-duty hybrid trucks and buses, and quickly get lower-polluting vehicles on the road. Heavy-duty hybrid truck and bus technology reduces global warming emissions by 20-50 percent. It also reduces smog-forming emissions and saves owners in fuel costs. The incentives range from $10,000 to $45,000 and California expects to put 800 cleaner vehicles on the road through this program. Eligibility is based on the purchase of selected hybrid vehicles and fleet owners must agree to register and operate the vehicle in California for three years. More on this "big" story at the Hybrid News Center.
- General Motors working to revamp hybrid system for sedans: General Motors (GM) recently confirmed plans to redesign its sedan hybrid platform. GM stopped production of the 2009 Chevy Malibu Hybrid, a hollow hybrid that does not fully use hybrid technology and has a meager improvement in fuel economy over the conventional Chevy Malibu, and will offer instead a 2011 Chevy Malibu Hybrid with an improved hybrid system. GM says the revamped Malibu Hybrid will achieve a 20 percent improvement in fuel economy over the gas-only version and will use lithium-ion batteries. The company also plans to offer plug-in hybrid vehicles based on GM’s “two-mode” hybrid system. Those will be available in 2011. GM's tweaks and lot of other hybrids on the horizon over at the Hybrid News Center.
We’re excited to have our first GMC Yukon Hybrid owner added to the “Who’s Got Hybrids” network! Please help us continue to expand this community even more by sending in a photo and telling your hybrid story. Also, please ask your hybrid-owning friends to join us.
 Richard Hunt of Ballwin, MO uses his GMC Yukon Hybrid to pull his 25-foot Airstream. He says his hybrid does a terrific job of getting moving and runs at lower rpm's at highway speeds.
 Ira Silverman of Rockville, MD loves his Ford Fusion Hybrid. He enjoys that it’s quiet, handles well, and has a smooth but not mushy ride. He reports his mileage is the reverse of the Environmental Protection Agency’s, 41 highway/37 around the suburbs. Either way that’s very good! His mileage goes down maybe 5 mpg in the cold. He wanted a hybrid for the environment but wanted a little bigger, better-looking vehicle than the Prius. He also prefers to buy an American car.
 Jay McCracken of Greensboro, NC bought his first Prius new in 2004. He’s a professional drummer and needs lots of space to carry his equipment. He even surprised the dealer when all of the stuff in his Volvo 240 wagon fit into the Prius. Now he has his second Prius and is in love all over again.
That's it for this month. We'll have lots of new hybrid market news coming up in April, so remember to keep an eye out for our new monthly e-newsletter--The Pulse--coming from action@ucsusa.org. You'll get the same great DCN information but in our snazzy new email package! If you aren't already signed up to get it, click here.
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