That was a close one!
That was a close one! When I read that the TTAC Staff robot was being “retired”, I knew that what they really meant was “having its arms bolted into a concrete wall and being tortured the way Lord Straxus tortured Scrounge in Transformers #17: Into The Smelting Pool! “. Then I heard the distinctive sound of Derek’s Aventador coming down the street. I huddled underneath a makeshift electric blanket, terrified that he would find the park bench where I spend the long nights during Toronto’s merciless winter. With a single mighty swipe, Derek tore the blanket from me and growled,
“Get up, Z. McQ. It’s time to go to work.”
“But what’s the QOTD, Managing Editor and heir-apparent, Sir?”
“Find out if our, ah, valued readers are considering hybrids for their next car. And if they aren’t, find out why not.” Then he was gone in a flash of V-12 growl and P Zero tire smoke, leaving me to trudge through the streets to my battered IBM Model M keyboard.
Today, we found out in Alex Dykes’ review of the Accord Hybrid that Honda has indeed “cracked the code”, joining Toyota and Ford in the club of manufacturers whose electric-motor-assisted products transcend CAFE-compliance-vehicle or empty-message-to-the-Greenpeace-dweebs status. It seems reasonable to assume that other manufacturers will follow at a rapidly increasing rate.
The question is: Would you consider one of the current hybrids for your next (new) vehicle? If not, why not? What’s missing? Do you want more power? More economy? Both ? Or is the hybrid surcharge too offensive to your sense of ROI? At what point would you buy a hybrid? When it’s a thousand-dollar surcharge? Five hundred? Free ? What can we do to get you into this hybrid today — or in the distant future?