Another High-Priced Hybrid Won't Do Much to Hybridize the Automotive Market
By Scott Doggett November 20, 2009
BMW's announcement this week that its ActiveHybrid X6 crossover utility vehicle will carry a U.S. sticker price of nearly $90,000 was disappointing, but even more disappointing is the fact that the model isn't alone among hybrids priced well out of reach of most people.
Toyota offers a Lexus LS 600h L for $107,300. The 7-Series Hybrid from BMW will surely be a six-figure car when it becomes available this spring. The Cadillac Escalade Hybrid starts at $73,425. The list is frustratingly long.
Our hawk-eyed colleagues at Edmunds' AutoObserver.com picked up on the trend and wrote about it in a piece that's as well written as it is informative. We encourage you to use your turn signal, pull to the side of the road and give it a read.
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The trend is understandable to an extent:
1. Rich people can afford to drive/own several cars, so they would naturally be more willing to live with the compromises that a hybrid introduces......and more willing to pay for them.
2. Many of the rich are high profile people, so seeing them drive hybrids might be a good way of raising their profile.
3. Despite the advances made by hybrid technology, the compromises and extra cost makes them expensive or unappealling for most middle-class people.
Hybrids like the Prius, which are easily affordable, are a bit too specialised to have broad appeal.
All the same, I share your sentiment, Scott, that it's about time we started seeing more hybrids that are affordable and appealling to middle-class owners who can typically afford only one car.
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