If our world is so threatend by global warming(which I don't doubt) then why???

Question

aren't hybrid cars made MUCH less expensive for consumers to buy? I would think that they would make it more appealing for us to purchase one of these by making it less $$. Same with the energy light bulbs, etc.

Answer 1

Well there is a cost to manufacturing, and you cant expect the car makers to sell them for less than it costs to make them. The solution is for the govenment to subsidize their development and production in the form of tax breaks for makers and/or buyers of hybrids. Such tax breaks do exist, but they should be bigger. Why arent they bigger? Because the American people have not elected more pro-environmental leaders yet. We had the chance to elect a very pro-environmenatal man to the presidency in 2000 (Al Gore) and another very pro-environmenatal man to the presidency in 2004 (John Kerry). Too bad America chose to go with dumb-dumb.

Answer 2

That's because right now, it's considered a "luxury" item, it's the same reason food labeled "healthy" is more expensive than food not labeled so.

Just so they get the dollars. Toyota may make hybrids but they don't make them so they can give them away. In all honesty , there is a 5-10% increase in cost to manufacture which - as time goes on, should diminish, hybrids will be the new standard, stick and regular automatics will go the way of the dodo.

AS far as global warming being a threat, it's like the old George Carlin joke about an asteroid hitting the planet.

"OMG, OMG, the planet is in danger...the planet is in danger...."

Don't worry , the PLANET is fine, it will continue in it's orbit for hundreds of millions if not billions of years...so if an asteroid does impact the planet, don't worry , the planet will be fine...the people are f*cked, but the planet will be just fine.

Global warming is a bit like that, Is it going to get 5 or 10 degrees warmer in some spot or colder in another, I really don't care.

Will it be the case the rains over Kansas and Nebraska stop falling, or that the marginal farmland of the US, Russia, China , India or Europe become unfarmable, that is another matter altogether.

We're chained, every one of us to the planet's weather being more or less EXACTLY as it is, anything else screws us and anything dramatically different and we could be truly f*cked, since if rainfall drops by just a few percentages increase or decrease in some areas, or even just a "slight" pattern change in rainfall, and you can loose whole crops.

Taking positive collective action on the part of our race, is new for us, so whether it's an asteroid, a plauge or climate change, it doesn't much matter, were probably not going to cope very well.

Think about it this way, with all the marvels of computer aided farming and genomic adjustments and China and the US both peaked for food production in 1998.

There's a non-cool idea to have to warm up to.

Answer 3

most of the cost of a vehicle you purchase goes in to paying for the development of the vehicle and not just the cost of production therefore if they only sell a small number of vehicles the cost is higher. The problem is that not enough people buy them but once development costs are reduced as cars became more popular. It would help if governments supported the industry by purchasing them as government vehicles or by subsidizing their cost. Similarly why doesn't the government just ban inefficient light bulbs and water heaters. You can get solar hot water heaters that have electric heating components so in winter if the sun doesn't come out you still get hot water. In countries like China yes the great polluter has better energy efficiency standards than the US and Australia because they are trying to save money by keeping efficiency high and power consumption to a minimum.

The biggest polluter in the world is the US. The US is also the most inefficient with the biggest consumption per capita. Why is this so when it is supposed to be the most fortunate country on earth.

On the matter of competition and government subsidy. All imported cars are taxed, infrastructure for oil and gas is subsidized by governments and government investment in dirty industry indirectly subsidizes its development so maybe the developers of hybrid cars should be complaining about unfair competition.

Answer 4

Time is the main factor, along with supply and demand. It costs a car company a lot of time, effort and money to produce a new product, especially if not many people end up buying it. Once the product becoming popular and many people buy, the company can be certain that it won't lose money on it and go out of business, because there is a much greater demand for the new product.

If a company isn't sure that a new product will sell, it won't produce a lot of the new product, because it doesn't want to lose money and / or go out of business.

Also, if a new product becomes popular and there is a great demand for it, the price will come down and more people will be able to afford it.

Hope all this makes sense and helps your understanding.

Answer 5

I agree with you on the fact that if the stuff was cheaper then more folks would buy it. Something that most people do not realize is that there are tax breaks for buying a hybrid car. One thing that you have to think about it disposal costs, not to mention reliability. Like most things, in new technology prices will come down. That is if the oil companies allow it. One more thing, global warming is real. Just look and see what is happening to the polar ice caps.

Answer 6

The marketplace has spoken, the marketplace isn't some magical Genie. It reflects what we've accomplished. China has a huge financial equipment, and people make China look lots extra hefty then that's. China has numerous money all in money, so in the event that they end commerce with the US the fee of the US dollar will take a dive. So if China had a million Million US money (i comprehend its extra yet for simplicity's sake) it might become 0.5 a million money. China is not any key. i'm chinese language and am asserting this. the international financial equipment is somewhat American-centralized. so we are in a position to restoration the american financial equipment by ability of scuffling with "stimulus plans" The marketplace is not any activity, it weeds out opposition, outstanding now its telling US many agencies are no longer extra healthy. We enable the recession ensue, with out increasing taxes on importations. as quickly as the US starts off to enhance the worldwide will carry on with, they're going to start to purchase from China(besides as from Europe and India) returned. all and sundry will frequently start to enhance. it rather is not any longer a disaster the marketplace is doing what it does ideal, that's Capitalism at its height. You compete for the marketplace. end freaking out, some money could be needed as a stimulus yet i do no longer see a reason to end the international financial equipment with value lists. It should not be left out. 0.5 the reason we are doing so undesirable is by using the fact the Media turns each little thing right into a cleansing soap opera. in basic terms go away or no longer it rather is, the marketplace will dazzling itself. consistent with probability with some agencies long gone, however the worldwide is functionally capitalist. So end panicking and brace your self for some tough years. enable the faulted agencies flow down.

Answer 7

The jury is still out on hybrid cars. You definately save money by buying a cheap fuel efficient car. It costs so much to change the batteries in a hybrid that they might not get much resale value when it's time to trade up.

I don't know, baring some great technical or manufacturing innovation they don't seem to be the way of the future.

Answer 8

Ultimately cars aren't the answer the less financially able can't afford new ones anyway and have to buy used usually with anti pollution devices that have long since worn out or have been removed. Rapid convenient mass transit is your best solution. irregardless the type of fuel cars turn cities into vast parking lots and total mayhem during morning and afternoon rush hour.

Answer 9

The manufacturers still have to make a profit on the vehicles they sell. If the price were to be reduced substantially then it would likely be as a result of a government subsidy, and what's the chance of that happening? They would be more appealing of the price came down but I don't see that happening until more manufacturers start making them and there is greater competition for the market-share.

Same with the lightbulbs, they cost more to make than the conventional bulbs but their energy saving and long life more than offsets the initial cost. In some places they are subsidised. Here in the UK they're frequently given away and in some supermarkets they're subsidised by the power companies and cost just a few pence.

Answer 10

You must be very young and have not figured out the world of money,supply,demand and the power of the super rich.