Flacking Wired Again: Hybrid Cars

Yes, yes, blogosphere echochamber mutual admiration blah blah blah. It pays the bills, baby. My day job this month has a fun, interesting package on hybrid cars and how they're going to change the shape of the energy debate (and here is a link to it, on which you may click upon with your mouse device, should you so choose).

And now, an excerpt:

Toyota knows China is the future. It will open a Prius manufacturing plant in Chang-chun by the end of the year, and Press believes driving conditions in China make hybrids an ideal fit - if not the Prius, then perhaps a more low-cost, low-power alternative perfect for puttering around megacities (see "China's Next Cultural Revolution," page 106). Or maybe the demand will be for so-called mild hybrids, like Honda's Civic Hybrid, which save fuel and limit emissions but can't run on electricity alone. Such vehicles improve fuel economy by 10 to 25 percent, chiefly by using an electric motor to start the engine. The technology is nowhere near as impressive as the Prius power train, but it's simpler and cheaper - which will be important to Chinese workers making $800 a month.

If Prius' early track record is any indication, the world will embrace hybrids. Prius waiting times have stretched six months or more, even with dealers selling above MSRP; the Lexus RX 400h had a preorder list of 18,000 names in January, three months before its release. And the masses are taking notice. A 2004 study by the Public Policy Institute of California found that 47 percent of those surveyed would consider buying a hybrid, higher prices and all.

See what I'm saying? Good story.