First off, I know a hybrid uses gasoline. Actually, if the reports from various car guys are to be believed it uses ALOT of gasoline, but some of these stars/tech guys in California may have accidentally found the best way to help the hybrid/Prius brand, which is to get caught going over 100 MPH (Al Gore’s kid and Steve Wozniak).
Hybrids and most non-gas vehicles have a reputation for being slow. I gather this comes from those ill-faded/Euro electric cars that go around 30 MPH at full speed, while rolling down hill. The woven bag for your groceries, granola, hemp wearing crowd driving them does help either.
What these cars need are a few more stories about high speed (no not 35 MPH) police chases that end is a bang. A speeding hybrid (electric only would be far better) racing toward the Grand Canyon, eight V8 Ford Crown Victorias in hot pursuit only to see the Prius owners decide the canyon is the best (and only) sensible alternative to being taken in by the pigs police. Toyota stocks jump 4% in pre-trading. The only thing found at the bottom of the canyon was a partially burn woven bag and a scorched Ipod.
In addition to having a few more high-profile people get outrageous speeding tickets, it would help the branding of both the Prius and other electrics if the cars weren’t so damn ugly. Ugly equals slow. Ugly keeps guys who are either to young or old to know better from buying this car, because owning it requires qualifiers.
Let’s say the brand gets through the ‘slow as hell’ phase thanks to lots of speeding tickets; its shear ugliness then requires guys (and girls too; +3 Women in Business Club points) to qualify their purchase with ‘yeah, but it goes fast.’
Those in the know agree, while others just nod politely while hoping a new Camaro is around the corner.
Have you seen these guys? http://www.teslamotors.com/
no, I love the idea but $100K isn’t mainstream … yet