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Hybrid and electric cars see record sales in March as gas prices rise, new models arrive

The Washington Post -- Americans are buying record numbers of hybrid and electric cars as gas prices climb and new models arrive in showrooms, giving the vehicles their greatest share yet of the U.S. auto market.

Consumers bought a record 52,000 gas-electric hybrids and all-electric cars in March, up from 34,000 during the same month last year.

The two categories combined made up 3.64 percent of total U.S. sales, their highest monthly market share ever, according to Ward’s AutoInfoBank. The previous high was 3.56 percent in July 2009, when the Cash for Clunkers program encouraged people to trade in old gas guzzlers for more fuel-efficient cars.

And while their share of the market remains small, it’s a big leap from the start of the year, when hybrids and electrics made up 2.38 percent of new car sales.

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Submitted Apr 14, 2012 By: ziyulu

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1006 Champion Author Birmingham Posts:1,105 Points:1,352,565 Joined:Apr 2008	Message Posted: Apr 17, 2012 3:42:59 AM Ignore 1006 Report Abuse Is this hype from the current admin?
kkimes Champion Author Illinois Posts:1,593 Points:1,504,025 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Apr 15, 2012 10:25:18 PM Ignore kkimes Report Abuse Well,I'm one of those since I bought a 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid in March. Not sure what I'm getting for mileage yet because I've only had it 3 weeks and put a little more than 300 miles on it. Gas gauge isn't down to the half full mark yet. I can see the range being 500 miles or more. Yeah, I'm babying it a little but not going crazy.
dave27johnson Champion Author Chicago Posts:1,787 Points:405,950 Joined:Feb 2012	Message Posted: Apr 15, 2012 7:58:16 AM Ignore dave27johnson Report Abuse The more hybrids the better.
NHLiveFree Champion Author New Hampshire Posts:11,076 Points:1,620,255 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 8:46:28 PM Ignore NHLiveFree Report Abuse Repost of earlier article today!
rbrk02 Champion Author Rhode Island Posts:5,725 Points:814,305 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 5:05:27 PM Ignore rbrk02 Report Abuse Pass, thank you.
Travel1st Champion Author Las Vegas Posts:2,910 Points:468,710 Joined:Aug 2011	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 4:16:11 PM Ignore Travel1st Report Abuse Sounds good.
snappytom2 Champion Author Corpus Christi Posts:3,537 Points:274,115 Joined:Jul 2008	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 4:01:19 PM Ignore snappytom2 Report Abuse Good.
Alaydown Champion Author Los Angeles Posts:5,098 Points:820,470 Joined:May 2007	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 4:01:08 PM Ignore Alaydown Report Abuse A waste of money!
menagerie1013 Champion Author San Diego Posts:2,365 Points:687,490 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 3:15:56 PM Ignore menagerie1013 Report Abuse I'm really interested to see how much it actually costs in electricity costs to run these vehicles. Also, unless the electricity is being generated by renewable sources, it really has little impact on the carbon footprint.
kimo31 Champion Author Orange County Posts:9,922 Points:2,576,220 Joined:Aug 2004	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 3:05:38 PM Ignore kimo31 Report Abuse We are only charging our Plug In Prius between midnight and 6 a.m. when the rates are at the lowest. We had the option of having a seperate meter installed (for $2 - 4K) for the car but we opted not to do that at this time. I'm curious to see how this impacts our electric bill since Edison's worksheet on their website indicated that it should go up by less than $20/month. We'll see...
N4PIP All-Star Author Miami Posts:888 Points:416,505 Joined:Jan 2012	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 2:55:34 PM Ignore N4PIP Report Abuse That's great news! Some here are saying hybrids are expensive. That's just not true. By today's standards, some hybrids are quite affordable. The Honda Insight and Toyota Prius C are both under $20,000. The Insight gets around 40mpg and the Prius C gets 50mpg.
99church Champion Author Indiana Posts:1,806 Points:359,015 Joined:Oct 2011	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 2:46:01 PM Ignore 99church Report Abuse once the electrice companies start seeing a surge in usage they will see $ and start raising price of electric.
kimo31 Champion Author Orange County Posts:9,922 Points:2,576,220 Joined:Aug 2004	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 2:21:01 PM Ignore kimo31 Report Abuse We plugged in my wife's plug in Prius and after charging for 3 hours overnight, she drove 18.6 miles to work in traffic on the 405 freeway and it registered 179 MPG! Of course, we have yet to get our electric bill since we started charging the car at home so we'll have to wait and see how much of an impact it has on that.
SUNOIL Champion Author Toledo Posts:5,230 Points:1,923,080 Joined:Jul 2007	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 2:20:34 PM Ignore SUNOIL Report Abuse When pump price goes down so will their sales.
The_DR Champion Author New Jersey Posts:2,770 Points:582,140 Joined:Aug 2011	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:53:02 PM Ignore The_DR Report Abuse fine by me
bruin19MD Champion Author Maryland Posts:1,057 Points:162,585 Joined:Feb 2011	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:51:47 PM Ignore bruin19MD Report Abuse green energy is best1
jorobins538 Champion Author Chicago Posts:4,727 Points:637,345 Joined:Sep 2009	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:50:19 PM Ignore jorobins538 Report Abuse ok
GAC1Shirt Champion Author Georgia Posts:1,360 Points:747,235 Joined:Sep 2006	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:50:05 PM Ignore GAC1Shirt Report Abuse Good in urban environs
2smooth1970 Champion Author California Posts:10,922 Points:1,785,680 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:47:53 PM Ignore 2smooth1970 Report Abuse ok
101Speedster Champion Author Ventura Posts:30,413 Points:2,715,695 Joined:May 2005	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:33:39 PM Ignore 101Speedster Report Abuse Excellent!
planetmail Champion Author Calgary Posts:6,480 Points:1,277,085 Joined:Jan 2009	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:32:47 PM Ignore planetmail Report Abuse Just sheep jumping on the bandwagon thanks to clever marketing. If you really want to save money buy a base model Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla, maintenance is cheaper than with hybrids, upfront costs are significantly less and mileage is comparable in real world numbers. No true savings with hybrids for most.
Cyberkedi Champion Author Atlanta Posts:13,371 Points:2,317,615 Joined:Aug 2005	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:31:25 PM Ignore Cyberkedi Report Abuse Saw a brand-new Chevrolet Volt just the other day. According to an article in the Atlanta paper, the Volt is selling - not well, but better than some less spendy hybrids.
Kaiyne Champion Author Chicago Posts:2,324 Points:469,790 Joined:Feb 2011	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:30:50 PM Ignore Kaiyne Report Abuse ok.
NemoIL Champion Author Illinois Posts:3,010 Points:1,310,195 Joined:Aug 2008	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:30:09 PM Ignore NemoIL Report Abuse o thanks, I will stay with my Volkswagen Jetta tdi diesel and its 73mpg.
nj2000ng Champion Author Houston Posts:1,507 Points:449,020 Joined:Jan 2010	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:28:15 PM Ignore nj2000ng Report Abuse ok
firefly09 Champion Author San Diego Posts:2,488 Points:714,770 Joined:Mar 2009	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:27:55 PM Ignore firefly09 Report Abuse No thank you.
slowtrain Champion Author Georgia Posts:3,652 Points:945,975 Joined:Aug 2008	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:27:21 PM Ignore slowtrain Report Abuse I wouldn't have one.
PithyOpiner Champion Author Stockton Posts:16,190 Points:1,594,620 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:27:03 PM Ignore PithyOpiner Report Abuse No, we keep it high by paying the price at the pump.
ramman2012 Champion Author Edmonton Posts:2,318 Points:495,285 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:26:26 PM Ignore ramman2012 Report Abuse Most people are morons.
Sam195 Champion Author San Bernardino Posts:8,075 Points:1,572,150 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:25:35 PM Ignore Sam195 Report Abuse Gasoline demand is going down, but the speculators keep it high.
knutzAL Champion Author Alabama Posts:2,248 Points:372,680 Joined:Feb 2012	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:24:29 PM Ignore knutzAL Report Abuse burn baby baby! cars will not out last the payback difference.
outlaw329 Champion Author Austin Posts:7,611 Points:1,373,305 Joined:Aug 2008	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:23:48 PM Ignore outlaw329 Report Abuse Some people still have money to burn and I really do not care.
GRUMPY55 Champion Author California Posts:1,619 Points:421,450 Joined:Oct 2011	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:22:56 PM Ignore GRUMPY55 Report Abuse ok
JENNYHK Champion Author Chicago Posts:3,626 Points:710,620 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:22:41 PM Ignore JENNYHK Report Abuse I don't like them.
Fute Veteran Author Ontario Posts:252 Points:524,185 Joined:May 2010	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:20:35 PM Ignore Fute Report Abuse I don't think I want one.
SUSANCK Champion Author Chicago Posts:3,627 Points:706,280 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:18:05 PM Ignore SUSANCK Report Abuse They are still too expensive for me!
adgam Champion Author Orange County Posts:2,262 Points:500,855 Joined:Nov 2011	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:17:39 PM Ignore adgam Report Abuse ok
sparky808 Champion Author Honolulu Posts:2,986 Points:595,785 Joined:Sep 2011	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:16:00 PM Ignore sparky808 Report Abuse Thank you for posting.
cupboy Champion Author Salt Lake City Posts:2,776 Points:1,119,110 Joined:Nov 2005	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:15:30 PM Ignore cupboy Report Abuse Some people are attracted to high-priced cars. Maybe some sort of status symbol? I'd rather have an Audi A8 L ... if I wanted to show off.
RAKARWOWSKI Champion Author Chicago Posts:3,985 Points:818,100 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:14:38 PM Ignore RAKARWOWSKI Report Abuse OK.
animal63 All-Star Author Indiana Posts:950 Points:1,028,950 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:14:02 PM Ignore animal63 Report Abuse A car that expensive is not in my budget.
dollarwatcher Champion Author Wisconsin Posts:7,930 Points:1,532,295 Joined:Mar 2007	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:11:26 PM Ignore dollarwatcher Report Abuse The Volt would be my choise because it's a Bowtie.
Sarge10 All-Star Author Detroit Posts:857 Points:173,125 Joined:Feb 2010	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:08:18 PM Ignore Sarge10 Report Abuse I'd buy a diesel before an eletric any day!
BEGTWO Champion Author Maryland Posts:1,932 Points:721,590 Joined:Sep 2010	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:05:08 PM Ignore BEGTWO Report Abuse I want the price to come down!!!
gumbyrex Champion Author Fresno Posts:3,286 Points:756,365 Joined:Mar 2011	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:04:27 PM Ignore gumbyrex Report Abuse Maybe now the prices will begin to drop as more consumers consider buying electric vehicles for everyday transportation.
PerSonneL Champion Author Alberta Posts:1,188 Points:736,915 Joined:Mar 2008	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:01:07 PM Ignore PerSonneL Report Abuse good good
NatureBoyKY Champion Author Kentucky Posts:3,348 Points:1,293,210 Joined:Jan 2008	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 1:00:10 PM Ignore NatureBoyKY Report Abuse I love my Pruis. I am getting 43 MPG with my average tank. Much better than the 29 I get with my Accord.
I10Express Champion Author San Antonio Posts:8,654 Points:1,637,045 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 12:59:13 PM Ignore I10Express Report Abuse I didn't buy one.
MJIOWA Champion Author Iowa Posts:4,808 Points:1,075,020 Joined:Nov 2009	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 12:58:39 PM Ignore MJIOWA Report Abuse not for me
EmperorsFinest Champion Author Chicago Posts:1,564 Points:340,870 Joined:Jul 2011	Message Posted: Apr 14, 2012 12:57:57 PM Ignore EmperorsFinest Report Abuse Now add a high gas tax.