The Lack of Hybrid Vehicles

The United States dropped the ball when it came to hybrid vehicles. Since 2005 gas prices have steadily risen with numerous upward spikes, especially in 2008 when gas was at an all-time high. That 2008 gas price scare hurt the SUV as a vehicle of choice (look at the downfall of Hummer) and caused Americans to be more cognizant than ever about how much they are spending on gas. Filling up a 20 gallon tank could cost upwards of $80 at that time. Considering that the average American vehicle averages 20 miles per gallon (1), that $80 lasted for only 400 miles. Considering the average American drives 43.5 miles per day (2), thats nearly a full tank of gas for a week of driving. In 2008 that was approximately $300 per month. For many Americans that is a lot of money.

The main problem I see here is that the U.S. didn't mandate hybrid vehicles before this happened. Its usually not a good thing when government gets too involved in individual choices, however here it would have been justified. The average fuel efficiency for a Toyota Prius hybrid is 42 mpg (1). That is over double the mpg of the national average. The thing that most people do not realize is that the Prius has been around since 2001 in the U.S., and since 1997 in Japan. The technology for hybrid vehicles has been around for over a decade. Imagine if the U.S. had required all new vehicles produced to have hybrid technology back in 2000? Half of all gas money spent is now saved, half of all the billions and billions of barrels of oil needed for vehicles in the U.S. is now not needed. Fewer emissions, less pollution. The list goes on and on. Even if a government mandate was created in 2005 at the start of the gas rise it still would have had major impacts. Money saved, less oil needed, lowering pollution output? Sounds great. Not a chance. Why? The simple answer is that oil lobbyists have too much say when it comes to U.S. economics due to the money they have, so policy makers are swayed by them. They don't care about the public or environment. Instead of goodwill and common sense we get uneducated and disgusting political slogans like "drill baby drill". I'm sure the ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico is thanking them right now.


1- http://www.google.org/recharge/dashboard/calculator
2- http://www.bestplaces.net/docs/studies/gasprices.aspx