I am an optimistic realist. I would like to think that, given time and sufficient incentive (I.E.: $5 a gallon gas), the average Joe and Jane will take a stand. They will stop driving Hummers, and start looking at hybrids or chargeable hybrids… or maybe even full-on electrics. And the car manufacturers will eventually have to change their product lines. Likewise, the oil companies will have to find new ways of getting rich.

The problem is that the first reaction of the big players, car companies and oil companies alike, is to resist change. Their whole business model goes in the crapper if people start driving electrics. Look at car manufacturers: a big chunk, maybe even the majority, of their profits comes from servicing cars. Electrics require less service. No oil to change, no crank case, no transmission, no timing chains, spark plugs, etc. That means (potentially) less sweet, sweet profit. Sure, maybe they can sell battery upgrades or other things, but they don’t yet have business models that can accurately predict how much money they can make.

And then there is the consumer. We’ve convinced ourselves that we need cars that can travel cross-country, even though we rarely go such long distances. We need 4x4s so we can pick up that big item at Revy once every six months. A Suburban is critical so we can haul our 7 kids (??) to the soccer game…yet 90% of the time, its just one or two of us in that rolling barn.

95% of my driving is within 100 km of my home, so 200 km range would be fine. But that 5%…that’s what stops people. I hesitate: what do I do if we want to go on a road trip? What if the car breaks down some where, and no one knows how to service it? Will it work when the weather gets cold?

I sort of think rechargeable hybrids would be the ideal combination for me. Something like 150 km range on battery, then a small super-efficient motor to provide electric power when the battery starts running low. So far, the only way to get such a car is to buy a hybrid (like a Prius) then have it modified after-market. Since the Prius is already pretty expensive, spending another $5-$10,000 on aftermarket upgrades is a bit hard to justify. Hopefully rechargeable hybrids will be available from dealers in the next few years.

What can we do to make a change? The government, particularly the U.S. government, has tremendous influence in this regard. The California CARB board and their ZEV laws (since repealed) literally caused the creation of the EV-1…and the death of those laws was a big contributor to the EV-1’s demise. But we can’t change what happens in the U.S.: we can hope that future elections will select legislators with a bit more insight, but my faith in the American voter is at an all-time low.

What we can do, I guess, is talk publicly and loudly about the options. Shout out our opinions. And where possible, vote with our pocket book. A Prius might not be perfect, but its a step in the right direction. Maybe the next generation of hybrid will be good enough for more than a rare few to buy…and if enough buy it, maybe that will cause a shift in thinking.

I’m driving a relatively efficient ULEV (ultra low emmissions vehicle) today, but beyond deciding I didn’t need a 4×4 or pick up, I didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about efficiency. My next car purchase won’t be for six or seven years- I think I’ll give more thought to economy, environmental concerns, and the like next time. I might not buy a hybrid or an electric, but I’d really like to have the *option* to do so.