Hybrid wars...

Hybrid wars ???

Yes, sad but true.

Hybrids don't even make up 5% of the market and the hybrid community is already in-fighting. In general we have people who cannot see past their choices and are unwilling and utterly unable to see merits in someone else's choices.
While this is something that has annoyed me for many years, it has become a little more annoying recently. Here are the perennial complaints I have regarding the two best selling hybrids and their fan base :
- Owners of Honda hybrids stop at nothing when calling the Prius all sorts of names including calling it ugly, "Maytag appliance like" and even weird. Geesh.
- Toyota Prius owners are so full of themselves that for them the only car worth having must be a Prius. For these sad folks, anything else is characterized as mediocre and unworthy even if the performance and underlying potential says otherwise.

As you can tell, both camps annoy me to no end. Come on folks! We need to focus our sights on the real problems and start making a difference by acting less smug and narcissistic. In addition to helping no one, such elitism on either side only helps perpetuate ignorance. We're better than this.

So, let me state a few things since by owning both cars I can probably speak with some authority and first-hand knowledge.

For the Prius bashers:
- The Prius is not ugly. If anything, it is a marvel of top tier engineering where its form and design follow the vehicle's primary goal. Still, beauty remains in the eye of the beholder but to openly dismiss the Prius on this account is hardly helpful. The Prius remains at the top of the fuel economy ladder for good reason and its shape, technology and human interface have a great deal to with it. In fact, give it a test drive before criticizing it and you'll see it is one heck of a fun car to drive.

For the HCH-II bashers:
- While the Civic hybrid is not as noticeable as the Prius at least by its shape alone, it is a fuel economy champ on its own as well. Yes, in terms of fuel economy the Prius is superior to the Civic Hybrid when in city-only operation and the combined fuel economy (the EPA ratings) bear that quite clearly. But, get the Civic Hybrid on the highway with an experienced driver and a Prius owner (regardless of experience) better think twice before challenging the HCH for the top fuel economy crown. For the typical myopic Prius owner I suggest an HCH test drive and a bit of an open mind before dismissing it since underneath that sheet metal there's some jaw-dropping FE performance to be had.

You see, both cars are unique enough and offer an alternate solution for alternate needs and tastes. In my sincere opinion, they are the absolute best cars to own and purchasing one of the two will never, ever be a bad investment. But since these two exhibit their potential in different arenas why not get the best of both worlds and own both? ;)

Think about it.


Cheers;