Here at CleanTechnica, we prefer fully electric cars to hybrids. I’ve driven electric for 16 years, but I like to meet people where they are and many people just aren’t ready to make the change, even though it might work fine if they were willing. I wrote about that 3 months ago here, and wrote about it from the automakers’ point of view a month ago here. This article is from the consumers point of view.

For a hundred years, the upgrade path was simple: You wanted more power, you bought a bigger gas engine. More cylinders, more displacement, more money — and worse fuel economy as the price of admission.

I made that exact trade in 1998. I had an older Toyota Camry, I had a new job with a pay increase, and I had always been concerned about fuel economy after growing up during the 1973 oil embargo. I test drove a couple of Lexuses (the GS300 and GS400 at about $40,000 and $50,000), and they were smooth and powerful and refined. But they were twice what I normally spent on a car. So I looked at the Camry and the Honda Accord, both around $20,000 for the top 4 cylinder model with leather. They were similar, but I liked the Accord because it was a little sportier.

I was about ready to buy the four-cylinder when I asked the dealer if I should test drive the V6. He said everybody who test-drives the V6 ends up buying it.

Source link