So let's pretend for a second that you are directly working for team
Obama, and the word comes down from the big cheese himself that you
should seriously consider getting a hybrid as your next car.
After all, the Obama administration has made its renewable energy policy central to its core agenda of change.
And let's also suppose that you are very amiable to the idea of driving one them newfangled hybrids that gets over 40 mpg.
And
to be fair you don't have to suppose any of this because this scenario
is exactly what is happening in Washington these days.
In a recent story titled, "Ford Scores Another Obama Hybrid Sale" U.S. News and World Report" says:
"Maybe
it's Ford's refusal to take bailout money, or maybe the Obama gang just
likes the company's hybrids, but team is a big fan of the car company.
The proof: President Obama and spokesman Robert Gibbs drive Escape
hybrids. And now, Ford tells Whispers, former Obama campaign manager
and adviser David Plouffe is sitting nicely in a Fusion Hybrid."
So the question that naturally comes to mind is why exactly is team Obama buying Ford?
The answer is pretty straightforward—they have no other viable hybrid choice.
There
is no doubt that with over a million Prius sales in America, and a deep
model selection of full hybrid cars, Toyota leads the pack with the
biggest and most diverse selection of hybrid models.
But even
though Toyota manufactures tens or thousands of cars in the United
States annually, and directly and indirectly employs ten of thousands
of workers here, if you are on team Obama you can't buy a Prius or any
other Japaneses hybrid brand. It is still not politically expedient or
wise to buy a "foreign" car.
That rules out a lot of choices. And
to be fair the German brands don't really do hybrids yet. They seem to
have gone "all in" on diesel in their home European markets and now to
some extent here as well.
So if you are on team Obama that means
you buy American, and that means you turn to the big three Detroit car
manufactures new car lots in and around Maryland.
1)
Chrysler makes some of the best, most fun, and fastest gas guzzling
cars on the planet including many Jeeps and HEMI SRT8 models. These
cars, like the 300C SRT8 I recently drove and reviewed HERE are a hoot to drive, but spew enough carbon to compete with a small coal fired steam locomotive.
Chrysler,
of course, also sells small cars, and they make the XXL Aspen Hybrid
SUV, which works well, but makes the same political statement as
driving that small steam locomotive to work.
2) General
Motors, before it jumped on the Volt bandwagon, decided that hybrid
technology would and could be best used to make their big trucks and
SUVs a bit more fuel efficient. So once again you can go out and buy a
big GM hybrid truck or SUV from the General, but in today's Washington
DC that may not fly.
You can also purchase one of GM's mild
hybrid sedans (like the Malibu Hybrid), but these cars basically use
electric power the way your spouse uses their electric toothbrush. It
may be more efficient, but it's really not that much more efficient
than the traditional tried and true owner operated model.
When GM
roles out the Volt (or perhaps if GM roles out the Volt) they may
leapfrog the competition with their technology, but currently their
barely on the same page as Toyota when it comes to hybrids offerings.
So that leaves you with only one clear choice—Ford.
3)
Ford has several full hybrid models. The Escape and the Fusion come to
mind first, and it looks like the top brass of team Obama have at least
one of each.
Ford hybrid cars offer great millage and perhaps a
tab more sportiness and performance than similar models from Toyota.
The current Ford hybrids can (and do) complete in terms of technology
and millage with the current generation of Toyota hybrids, but that's
about to change.
The new Prius, which I test drove a few weeks ago (you can read about it HERE)
takes Toyota's hybrid game to the next level. It easily gets well above
50 mpg, and can drive for short periods of time on battery power along.
Honda's new Insight will most likely undercut the new Prius in price, but not in terms of mpg.
But
all this is irrelevant in Washington were politics and policy rule the
roost. So that why, at least for now, the only hybrid game in town for
team Obama is Ford.
And just in case you were wondering, below are the Top Five best selling hybrids of 2008:
5. 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid
MPG: 34 city/30 highway
4. 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid
MPG: 27 city/25 highway
3. 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid
MPG: 40 city/45 highway
2. 2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid
MPG: 33 city/34 highway
1. 2008 Toyota Prius
MPG: 48 city/45 highway
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