Hybrids lead fuel efficiency race

Anyone who places a delivery order for Julie's Chewies baked goods is likely to see a Toyota Prius pull up to the door.

The company bought the 2008 hybrid to use for deliveries last summer, when regional gas prices approached $4 a gallon.

"We either would have (had) to raise our delivery prices or find another option to keep them down," said Julie's Chewies co-owner LaVerne Cantrell, who said the company previously delivered via a Chrysler Town & Country minivan, which averaged 18 to 20 miles per gallon.

"My cousin had a Prius and was telling me about what mileage they were getting," she said. "So we went and checked it out, and now we're averaging 44 to 46 miles to the gallon."

For businesses - or individuals - looking for a more efficient vehicle, local car dealers say there's a multitude of options.

The hybrid route

"Our No. 1 car, certainly, would be the Toyota Prius," said Tony Stubblefield, managing partner of Reliable Toyota Lexus BMW Scion Superstore. "That's a vehicle that is very fuel--efficient, super-ultralow emissions, and very environmentally friendly."

While the Prius was not the first hybrid in the U.S. market, it is certainly the poster child for the national hybrid movement - it accounted for 49 percent of all hybrids sold in the U.S. through the first two months of 2009, according to J.D. Power and Associates.

Toyota also is leading the hybrid sales pack: Four of the top five hybrid models are either Toyota or Lexus, which is owned by Toyota Motor Co.

Hybrid sales, Stubblefield noted, did take a hit in fourth-quarter 2008, dropping 34 percent from fourth-quarter 2007, due to a combination of falling gas prices and deep discounts on an overstock of pickups. Still, hybrids accounted for about 15 percent of Toyota sales at Stubblefield's lot in 2008.

The price factor

The main issue with hybrid vehicles is price.

Hybrids can cost significantly more than their traditional gasoline-engine counterparts. At $23,650, the manufacturer's suggested retail base price for a 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid is about $4,000 more than a comparably equipped traditional Civic, according to Cars.com.

"It would take a long time to realize those savings simply through your mileage," said Jason Trask, new car sales representative for Don Wessel Honda.

"Anyone buying a hybrid is going to have to do it because they want to be greener."

But Julie's Chewies co-owner Cantrell noted that the company cut its gasoline bills in half by switching to the Prius.

"Plus, the gas tank only holds 11 gallons, so it costs less at each fill-up," she said, noting the psychological advantage of spending less each time she fills the tank.

Trask said hybrid technology will likely decrease in price in coming years; the 2010 Honda Insight, for example, uses a battery that is more efficient, weighs less and lasts longer than the Civic Hybrid battery - and the Insight battery costs less to make. Pricing for the Honda Insight will begin at around $20,000 when it is available for sale later this spring, according to Trask.

Other options

For those who want to conserve gas but don't want to spend the extra money for a hybrid, there are numerous fuel-efficient options.

There are 11 2009 vehicles that get at least 35 highway miles per gallon, according to Cars.com, and only two are hybrids. The traditional Honda Civic nets 36 miles to the gallon, as does the Toyota Yaris.

One of the most unique vehicles available is the Smart fortwo micro car, made by Mercedes-Benz, which can be ordered directly from the company or purchased at more than 70 Smart centers across the country, including Plaza Motors in St. Louis.

"It's been compared with the Yaris and the Prius in terms of price and efficiency," said Andy Berra, Smart sales representative with Plaza Motors.

Berra said customers order their vehicles through the dealer at www.smartusa.com, and there is about a year wait for new vehicles.

The Smart fortwo, which just became available in the U.S. in early 2008 but has been in Europe for more than a decade, starts at $11,990 and gets about 41 miles per gallon on the highway.

"Sometimes, being green doesn't need to be going to the extreme of buying a hybrid vehicle," Stubblefield said, noting that new vehicles also have much better emissions control technology that makes them greener than comparable cars from a few years ago. "People should know that if they don't want to spend the money to get a hybrid, if you buy a new car that does get better gas mileage and has lower emissions, you are still doing your part."