Ford’s original stance when it came to the hybrid vehicle was to aim at one thing Americans truly love: the SUV. One of their first models was a hybrid SUV; the company is still adding more hybrids to their production line. Although, their approach to selling their hybrids was much more conservative than the Japanese, they are starting to turn a profit, which will allow them to continue to expand their hybrid offerings and keep them competitive with foreign car companies.

General Motors chose to originally ignore the hybrid craze, because they didn’t feel it was a worthwhile investment at the time, but have since done a complete turnaround, because of the success of foreign hybrid cars. The first GM attempts were met with negative reactions due to such a mild introduction of hybrid technology. They vehicles only used an electric engine to help the gasoline engine and while they offered a small improvement to gas mileage, the increase in cost was not worth the benefit; they have since switched to developing competitive hybrid engines and have introduced them all across their production line. The biggest benefits come in the SUV and Truck department.

Chrysler never gave hybrids the consideration they were due and after spending a lot of money to develop a hybrid engine, they found there wasn’t enough interest to continue and had for the most part stayed out of the hybrid market, until recently. They have come forth with plans on developing hybrid vehicles, but nothing is concrete as plans continue to be canceled and re-opened.

Choosing to buy American made hybrid cars is a good way to combine the benefits of going green and the pride of the USA. While Toyota is currently dominating the hybrid market and will continue to do so for a few years, American companies are working hard to catch up and produce products that are better options to foreign choices. Whether you go with higher fuel efficiency or more power, you need to evaluate your requirements and go with the car that best suits your lifestyle.

My friend has a Toyota Prius and my first experiences in this car were interesting to say the least. First when he pressed “start” there was not any noise what so ever and we were in gear backing out of our parking space. He thought it was great however I did not like it so much. The other thing to consider is its tough to find a stylish Hybrid. Most of these cars were not designed to be sporty or elegant.

There are some exceptions however. The American Hybrids are very nice looking cars. They drive well to for that matter. Most people are unaware that you can get an Escalade or Tahoe Hybrid. In general I think it is a time to support American car companies. At this point not only are they better quality but if your buying new you may as well support the Manufactures in your country. Well except for FORD that is. Or Fraud as I call them. There are several things to be aware of when buying a used hybrid.

One is that this is not a tried and true technology. The Conventional engine has been around forever and you know what to expect on a high mileage car. Hybrids are probably going to bring a whole new plethora of problems when they reach one hundred and fifty thousand miles where as a conventional engine has already been there and done that. We know what to expect. Some things that seem simple may slip through the cracks by companies that pay more attention to profit rather then quality.

For instance look at the problem Toyota is having with the accelerator pedal. Look and practically everything FORD does. Sub par quality and a ridiculous price tags. I think we all can find some humility that the Toyota Prius is supposed to be so wonderful for the Environment yet the Battery is made with a type of Nickel that is extremely toxic. So much so that the plant that produces it has no living vegetative or animal life within a thirty mile radius. Here is my suggestion for buying a Hybrid or any Auto for that matter. Only buy Italian, German or General Motors engineering.

What else would one expect though from an industry that has made millions and experienced the popularity of the SUVs and the pickup trucks. Why design eco friendly cars that runs on a different power source when the ones that they are building are selling like hotcakes?

It’s now time for the big three to start rolling out the hybrid vehicles. These vehicles are going to increase the fuel efficiency of the same models by about 40%. I’m sure they can do a lot better than that, but its a start. Which is something that’s been overdue for many years.

General Motors and Ford have been saying that they have the hybrid vehicles available in the same popular models that everyone has been buying for the last few years.

The question is though, Is this a little too late? The economy has taken a beaten in the last year and who really knows how long we’ll be in this situation. Hybrid vehicles cost more than the conventional models, but compared to how much you’ll save over the years on gas, it well worth it. Unfortunately people may not have the means to buy a new vehicle for  some time and who knows if the American automakers can make it until the economy turns around.

Another question to ask is if no one is buying the hybrid vehicles over the next two years, are they going to think that no one wants them or are they going to think that it’s the condition of the economy. Will they stop making them because of the lack of sales?

We’ll just have to wait and see, but if you are going to buy a used vehicle, you might want to look at these used hybrid models.