The fuel sippers

For Robert Andringa, the decision to dump a luxury sedan for a Honda Civic Hybrid was all about saving time.

Last month, the Washington, D.C., businessman read that tough commuting restrictions on Interstate 66 had been altered. Instead of allowing only carpools during rush hour, the highway could also be used by hybrid vehicles, regardless of the number of passengers.

The next day, he bought one, sight unseen, and shaved 15 minutes each way off his commute from Vienna, Va.

"That's the kind of incentive that's a big-time benefit," he says. He has since found other advantages. The Civic was cheaper than his old luxury car. And at 51 miles per gallon on the highway, he saves money on gas.

Mr. Andringa is among many US drivers who have been mulling over a shift to more fuel-efficient vehicles.

For some, prices at the pump - averaging more than $1.60 per gallon across the US, and topping $2 in a number of states - are reason enough to coax more miles out of a tank of gas. While still low in historical terms, and cheap compared with prices in many other nations, rising prices may feel especially jarring to consumers in tough economic times.

For others, environmental concerns add guilt to driving popular 13 m.p.g. SUVs alone to work every day.

And the geopolitics playing out on the nightly news - as the US showdown with Iraq edges toward war - have many consumers thinking about the source of the crude oil that's refined into their gasoline.

Still, consumers have traditionally not been willing to pay extra to burn less. Combined, Toyota and Honda have sold more than 52,000 hybrids since they first appeared in 1999. A slow start, considering that about 17 million new cars are sold in the US each year.

Hybrid vehicles, which run on both a standard gasoline engine and an electric motor, cost about $3,000 more than equivalent cars that run only on gasoline. Diesels today add about $1,750. To recoup that extra cost over 10 years, the life of a typical vehicle, gas prices would have to rise to $2.50 a gallon and stay there for three to six years.

That might help explain why so many big SUVs remain on the road. Along with exotic sports cars, they show up at the bottom of every fuel-economy list.

Still, a shift in consumer thinking may be afoot. A recent study by J.D. Power and Associates, a marketing-information services firm in Agoura Hills, Calif., indicated that American consumers don't expect to recoup the whole cost of additional fuel-saving technology for hybrids or diesels. That could represent a green light for the automobile industry to deliver a broader range of high-mileage options.

"This will be a landmark year," for fuel-efficient vehicles, says Thad Malesh, J.D. Power's director of alternative-fuel research. Ford, General Motors, and Lexus each plan to sell new hybrid versions of certain SUV models over the next 18 months, in part to lower their fleet fuel- efficiency averages. Toyota also plans to install hybrid drive systems into about half of its vehicles over the next few years.

Hybrid cars on the road today can get up to 55 miles per gallon - even in city driving. Consumers currently have a choice of three: the Honda Insight and Civic, and the Toyota Prius.

And hybrids aren't car buyers' only fuel-sipping option. Diesels, loathed by many for smelly emissions in the 1980s, are on the verge of a comeback, according to experts. Diesel engines operate about 20 percent more efficiently than gasoline engines. Currently, Volkswagen is the only manufacturer to sell diesel-powered vehicles in the US. Its largest diesel, the Jetta wagon, is rated at 42 miles per gallon around town and 50 on the highway - just a little less efficient than today's hybrids.

Page: 1 | 2 | 3