fuel economy in car commercials

I've noticed three times in the past week fuel economy has been mentioned
in a car commercial I have seen. It's interesting to watch because
normally I don't think fuel economy is mentioned at all.

The Toyota Prius car commercial didn't talk about actual fuel economy much
(other than a vague sense it was good), just a generalized feel-good "green
car" message with a haughty tone (even the bicycle and people weren't going
anywhere, right? And they are zero emissions (not counting the burrito, er,
emissions... oh, and that motorcycle gets over 55-65 mpg already), likely
appealing to a demographic that is less interested in dollars-and-cents
savings than a vague feeling of moral superiority; well-heeled liberals,
ex-hippies with money, and any wanting to look cool in a nerdy, eco-friendly
way (high-tech, gadgety efficiency the new horsepower?)

One time fuel economy was touted as a benefit briefly, among other
features. I forgot what it was- maybe a minivan?

The other time it was a Chevy/Ford commercial (again, my memory is fuzzy,
but it was an American car, I'm sure), and a little defensive. Some guy
talking about how "my friend's car gets 40-50 mpg... my car gets 30 mpg (on
the highway, no doubt)... but hey I have 140 horsepower". Sounds like a
panic ad. With rising gas prices, can't you just smell the fear?

"Magnulus" > wrote in message
. ..
> I've noticed three times in the past week fuel economy has been mentioned
> in a car commercial I have seen. It's interesting to watch because
> normally I don't think fuel economy is mentioned at all.
>
> The Toyota Prius car commercial didn't talk about actual fuel economy
> much
> (other than a vague sense it was good), just a generalized feel-good
> "green
> car" message with a haughty tone (even the bicycle and people weren't
> going
> anywhere, right? And they are zero emissions (not counting the burrito,
> er,
> emissions... oh, and that motorcycle gets over 55-65 mpg already), likely
> appealing to a demographic that is less interested in dollars-and-cents
> savings than a vague feeling of moral superiority; well-heeled liberals,
> ex-hippies with money, and any wanting to look cool in a nerdy,
> eco-friendly
> way (high-tech, gadgety efficiency the new horsepower?)
>
> One time fuel economy was touted as a benefit briefly, among other
> features. I forgot what it was- maybe a minivan?
>
> The other time it was a Chevy/Ford commercial (again, my memory is fuzzy,
> but it was an American car, I'm sure), and a little defensive. Some guy
> talking about how "my friend's car gets 40-50 mpg... my car gets 30 mpg
> (on
> the highway, no doubt)... but hey I have 140 horsepower". Sounds like a
> panic ad. With rising gas prices, can't you just smell the fear?

With the lack of comprehension of oil shortages and energy crises, people
don't mind paying $40+ to fill their tanks.

I wonder how the sales of hyrbid cars have been affected over the past
year. Is there anyway to find out something like that?

"The Office Jet" > wrote
>I wonder how the sales of hyrbid cars have been affected over the past
> year. Is there anyway to find out something like that?

Toyota has increased production by about 50%:
http://www.newstarget.com/002148.html

There are many more models available now (6 at least)
than there were last year (2?)

Floyd

"fbloogyudsr" > wrote in message
...
> "The Office Jet" > wrote
>>I wonder how the sales of hyrbid cars have been affected over the past
>> year. Is there anyway to find out something like that?
>
> Toyota has increased production by about 50%:
> http://www.newstarget.com/002148.html
>
> There are many more models available now (6 at least)
> than there were last year (2?)
>
> Floyd

And they can't make them fast enough. I know a couple of people that had to
wait several months for a Prius to come available

> And they can't make them fast enough. I know a couple of people that

> had to wait several months for a Prius to come available

An additional driver for hybrids' popularity is a controversial
movement, differing in status and exact nature from one state to
another, to allow some or all hybrids into the High-Occupancy Vehicle
aka carpool lanes regardless of how many people are on board.

This pits the states against the federal government, which wants only
pure electrics and alternative-fuel vehicles to solo in the HOV lanes
(presumably wielding highway funds as its enforcement weapon). Thus
there's a controversy- within- a- controversy about whether this sort
of thing should be up to the Feds or decided by each state.

(Check with your state's transportation or motor-vehicles department
before diving into the diamond lane alone, as violations can result in
a ticket about the size of Rhode Island.)

Back to the original question: come to think of it, I can't readily
envision a recent TV commercial that explicitly brags about mileage.
Or maybe I only pay attention to the ones that tell you how fast,
classy, or likely to make people think you're a cowboy the vehicle is.


Perhaps they figure that people who are highly motivated by gas mileage
and other factors in operating cost are less likely to be swayed by
advertising, so big-ticket adverts in costly media are steered toward
the people who make decisions based on image rather than data? Just a
guess.

--Joe

"The Office Jet" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> I wonder how the sales of hyrbid cars have been affected over the past
> year. Is there anyway to find out something like that?
>

Interest in hybrids goes up when gas prices go up, but that doesn't always
translate into sales. People, though, are now more interested in fuel
economy than horsepower, that has to be a record of some kind for recent
history. But in many cases they are choosing different engine options or
moving down to "midsize" SUV's. It's going to take higher gas prices to
really change peoples behavior. Hybrids will require much higher gas
prices to justify them to most people. There are conventional technologies
that will also offer large improvements in fuel economy for much less cost
to consumers.

Magnulus wrote:
>Interest in hybrids goes up when gas prices go up, but that doesn't
always
> translate into sales. People, though, are now more interested in
fuel
> economy than horsepower, that has to be a record of some kind for
recent
> history. But in many cases they are choosing different engine
options or
> moving down to "midsize" SUV's. It's going to take higher gas prices
to
> really change peoples behavior. Hybrids will require much higher
gas
> prices to justify them to most people. There are conventional
technologies
> that will also offer large improvements in fuel economy for much less
cost
> to consumers.

I agree that raising gas prices will change people's thinking. I'm
wondering if the increased gas prices over the last year or two have
translated into higher sales.

"The Office Jet" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> I agree that raising gas prices will change people's thinking. I'm
> wondering if the increased gas prices over the last year or two have
> translated into higher sales.
>

Yes, but it's not a 1-1 correlation. I can see with the Prius some
people will just not like the car. I didn't care for the rear seat headroom
at all (or lack of it), and the controls and instruments were very
unconventional. The engine/motor noises also don't always seem to
correlate to any speed, which can take some getting used to. At 28,000
dollars, it was also ridiculously overpriced. Gas will never be so
expensive that buying a Prius at that price would be worth it.

The Honda Civic, especially the 2006 model, looks to be a better bargain
than a Prius. Sure, it doesn't have as high gas mileage but it also costs
alot less. Some dealers are selling them with a discount too. And it
actually looks and drives just like a regular car (except for the CVT- but I
found it "sounded" more like a regular car than the Prius). Rumor is in
2006 it will have a regular 5 speed auto transmission and upgraded safety
features as standard (side curtain airbags standard, possibly stability
control), and also is said to have a fuel economy improvement as well. I
have heard rumors that Honda is not satisfied with the CVT's, the economies
of scale are better for the regular auto transmissions, and actually a CVT
is not necessarily more efficient (especially with engines with wider power
bands, and the fact that a CVT still has a torque converter).

Volkswagens diesel sales in the US have also increased in the last couple
of years, even while their gas engine sales have not been great. Honda may
come out with a diesel-engine Civic in a year or two in the US; if so they
could likely cut into VW's sales. I went the diesel Jetta wagon route
because the car was only 16,500 dollars, had side curtain airbags, and of
course was diesel, and I was also interested in biodiesel (of course, it's
hard to find in Florida but not impossible).

"Magnulus" > wrote in message
. ..
>
> "The Office Jet" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
>> I wonder how the sales of hyrbid cars have been affected over the past
>> year. Is there anyway to find out something like that?
>>
>
> Interest in hybrids goes up when gas prices go up, but that doesn't
> always
> translate into sales. People, though, are now more interested in fuel
> economy than horsepower, that has to be a record of some kind for recent
> history.

Not really, interest in more fuel economical vehicles always increases as
the relative price of gas increases.