Driving Along in My Automobile

Sunday night I was at the Vancouver Canucks hockey game. We won! But, that’s not the point of this post. And, Dolph Lundgren was sitting right behind me. But, that’s not the point of this post either.

The Canucks play at GM Place. Frankly, up until recently, I never gave the name much thought. However, walking to the game with David, I wondered if the stadium would change its name should the “Big Three” go under. During one of the breaks between periods, a Chevy Malibu Hybrid was driven onto the ice, possibly to win. I didn’t quite catch the reason why. But its appearance brings me to the point of this post. In a roundabout way.

Four years ago, David and I were having the “We need a bigger car now that we have a child (and expect to have more in the coming years, and don’t forget we also have a dog and lots of luggage now when we travel on a road trip anywhere)” conversation. I know you’ve had it too. Weeks of debate brought us to the conclusion that we would sell David’s Grand Vitara and my Honda Civic and get one family car instead. Score one for the Grattons on the environmental count!

(Once we moved out of the downtown core to the “suburbs” of North Vancouver, David acquired a 50cc Honda scooter as he could no longer walk to work. Score two for the Grattons on the environmental count!)

When we were making the decision to buy our family vehicle, back in 2005, we really wanted to buy a hybrid. Research promptly showed us that there were few “family sized” hybrids that could fit everything we needed into the car for our travels. More to the point, the prices of said hybrids were well above what we wanted to pay for the car at the time.

We finally settled on a domestic crossover model (cross between a station wagon and an SUV), promising that we would sell it in 5 years or so and buy a hybrid. David was very confident that the prices would have come down significantly, and there would be more models on the road to choose from.

Recently we’ve been having some car issues which, for the sake of my sanity, I do not want to go into at the moment. Suffice it to say, if our car has one more problem in the next little while, I’m selling it and getting my hybrid. I know there are more out there. Apparently I can get a Malibu.

Quick research today told me that in the US (figures not available yet for Canada), there is only a 3% adoption rate in the market for hybrid cars.  I have to admit, I was a little surprised. Frankly, if the “Big Three” are putting an extensive amount of their restructuring strategy into hybrids, they may want to rethink that. People don’t seem to be buying them.

So I ask you. What kind of car do you drive? What “fuels” your choice and would you, do you, own a hybrid?

Comments

[mapsgirl]

The shift to hyrbrid vehicles is a slow one. We don't have a hybrid and until they come down in price enough to actually be a savings, we won't get one. As a family of 4 we need to save money as well as the environment.

Here is a good list of the issues that still arise with the hybrid cars... http://hybridcarstrucksvans.com/hybrid-cars/disadvantages-of-hybrid-cars/

We drive a mini-van and an SUV. Neither of which are the most fuel efficient on the road, but we need the space.

[Helen]

Coming from the area where global warming isn't happening (the belt!). There are very few hybrids.
Also, once the gas prices went back down just before Christmas the Tahoe and Suburban plant in Texas went into overtime due to the demand of these two vehicles.
You would also be surprised to know that GM is one of the leading developers in Eco-friendly cars. Possibly more on the side of the engines...but still. The average person does not realize it. That's one thing about having a husband in the automotive industry...still with a job!
We have a car and a small SUV. We bought the SUV down here, we needed a 2nd car as we are way out in the burbs and wanted something bigger because we are surrounded by huge trucks. Now, as we are planning to move back into the city (and Canada) we will get rid of the SUV, stick with the car for a bit and in future buy small economic-eco-friendly cars. Yes, there are times when you might need more room! But really?!?! How often does that happen?!? As we're really trying to live on a needs basis rather than a want...
Good post!

[Gratton Grapevine]

Mapsgirl -- You raise a key issue. The article I referenced from the Vancouver Sun put the hybrids at roughly 5,000 more than their counterparts. That makes a difference for our family, and probably most middle class families.

Helen -- I did know that GM had a lot of green initiatives, but I didn't know they were one of the leaders in that technology. It's too bad it hasn't helped with a wider adoption policy. I admire you for planning to give up your bigger vehicle.

[Dano]

We don't own a hybrid and don't plan to in the near future unless the price is comparable to a "regular" car. We did however, buy a small SUV (given we have 2 small children and lots of "stuff") but we chose Honda for their fuel efficiency, dependable nature (gas goes here...oil goes there!) and we also bought Honda because they did have a hybrid and wanted to support their company for doing so, even though a hybrid is not on the horizon for us anytime soon. We also looked at Toyota.
Actually we've all but given up driving our small Honda SUV except on the weekends. I recently signed up for an employee bus pass and my husband also takes the bus downtown. It only adds on 10 minutes to our day which isn't too bad.

[Gratton Grapevine]

Dano -- Good on you for using so much public transportation. We've yet to figure out how to drop the kids off without the car. I think when they're both on the school bus, it will be a LOT easier.

[katie ~ motherbumper]

We had the same conversation back in the pre-family day and decided to get rid of the car all together. We went to a co-op that has both traditional and hybrids and invested in a monthly transit pass that is transferable. Not everyone has those options but luckily we did. We went with a co-op that allowed us to still continue our insurance history for the day that we move away from these conveniences. Because of the co-op, we plan our current car-dependent trips with more thought. It's amazing how many things fall off the must-do list when the car isn't sitting in the driveway.

[Gratton Grapevine]

A few of the coop cars in Vancouver are hybrids as are many of the taxis. It's a little eerie to be in a car that goes dead silent when you stop at a red light.

[Jenn @ Juggling Life]

We live in San Diego--home of virtually no public transportation. We own a Toyota Sienna, a Ford Explorer, a Honda Accord and a motorcycle. We try to carpool when possible and I do all my errands on one day in a planned loop. We will definitely consider a hybrid when our family size is smaller and our
budget is larger.

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