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Milwaukee Journal Article |
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Hybrid owners pumped up over fuel savings
Drivers of
gas-electric vehicles gather for the first time in Madison
By THOMAS CONTENT
Posted: July 22,
2006
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Madison - Imagine a Harley owners reunion, only much
quieter.
Instead of the potato-potato-potato roar, the silence of
hybrid electric battery and gasoline-powered Toyota Priuses
and Honda Insights greeted visitors Saturday to Hybridfest,
at the Alliant Energy Center at the Dane County Fair.
The first-ever event is believed by organizers to be the
largest gathering of hybrids in one place. More than 100
hybrids were on hand, including all 10 models currently or
soon to be on sale at U.S. dealerships.
Interest is high, with growing concern about global
warming and crude oil prices at more than $74 a barrel. AAA,
the automobile club, said that Saturday's average price for
regular unleaded gasoline reached highs in Madison at $3.09,
in Milwaukee at $3.22, and in La Crosse at $3.06.
Donald Smith drove his hybrid Toyota Highlander sport
utility vehicle to the event from Lakeland, Colo. The
Highlander is his second hybrid, after buying a Toyota Prius
a year earlier.
"Anything that creates more awareness about alternatives
to wasting gas and resources is a good thing to me," said
Smith, who will travel next to Oshkosh for EAA AirVenture
2006, which starts Monday.
Hybridfest featured vehicles in a variety of shapes and
sizes, from subcompacts to large sport utility vehicles that
won't hit showrooms until the fall. Among them: A hybrid
equipped with a battery kit that allows the car to be
plugged into and charged by a standard household electrical
outlet.
Fewer pollutants emitted
For Smith, like many others, there are several reasons to
buy a hybrid vehicle, namely saving on gasoline bills,
taking advantage of tax credits encouraging the purchase of
hybrids and sending fewer pollutants out the tailpipe.
"I've always been sort of green," he said, adding with a
smile, "but I guess not that green because I traded a Tahoe
in on the Prius."
Hybridfest was organized by hybrid-car owners in the
Madison area, along with a Milwaukee-area hybrid owners.
"It wasn't the dealers who started this," said Eric
Powers of Sauk City, Hybridfest president. The event drew
owners from 21 states and Canada.
Powers said he was surprised that no major events
focusing solely on hybrids have been organized.
So he conceived of Hybridfest to help get the word out
and get exposure for hybrids beyond the core enthusiast
crowd.
"I just knew that someone was going to do something like
this, so we figured, why don't we do it here, and do it
now?" said Powers, an employee of Meriter Hospital in
Madison, who commutes every day from Sauk City in a 2002
Honda Insight that in his experience averages 67 miles per
gallon.
The knock on hybrids is that the savings in gasoline
prices are offset by the extra price shoppers are paying for
the hybrid vehicle. The hybrid Camry displayed at Hybridfest
costs roughly $3,500 more than a typical 2007 Camry would.
But a tax credit helps offset some of the extra cost, at
least for buyers who purchase certain hybrids by the end of
September, said John Dolan, a sales consultant with Smart
Motors in Madison.
Hybrids are selling so well that Smart Motors has up to
200 people on waiting lists for Priuses and the new hybrid
Camry, set to debut this fall.
Interest in hybrids has been so strong in Madison, known
for its residents' environmental awareness, that Toyota says
Madison residents have bought more hybrids per capita than
even the San Francisco Bay area, Dolan said.
"We're actually seeing people that are getting out of the
big SUVs and are looking to trade them, saying, 'We probably
made a mistake,' " Dolan said.
For many hybrid owners, the savings they see on their
fuel bills is a bonus for owning a car that contributes
nearly zero greenhouse gas pollutants into the atmosphere.
But Mark Barnes, owner of Barnes Landscaping in Madison,
says a different kind of green fueled his decision to buy a
small fleet of red Prius hybrids for his business.
"With gas at $2.50 a gallon, I figured we'd save $18,000
a year," said Barnes, who bought five Priuses this year and
is buying another five soon.
Barnes, whose business employs 100 people, says the cars
are used by staff members as they go out to get bids for
upcoming landscape jobs. He bought them all this year to
take advantage of the federal tax credit, he said.
Of course, the savings go only so far, given that it's a
landscaping business with a fleet consisting mainly of
trucks hauling trees and plants.
"I have about 90 vehicles that don't get this kind of
mileage," Barnes said, "but every little bit helps."
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