Gas prices fueling surge in alternative vehicle market

Colorado College President Dick Celeste drives a hybrid vehicle not only to save money at the gas pump, but to promote environmental sustainability.

While we talk about sustainability, our lifestyle choices sometimes conflict, Celeste said. Folks love sport utility vehicles, but they are notorious gas hogs.

As rising oil and gas prices continue to reach record highs, hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles are gaining popularity.

Celeste purchased a 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid from Phil Long Ford in Colorado Springs. The size is comparable to most sport utility vehicles, but the fuel efficiency on an Escape is about 30 miles per gallon, Celeste said.

The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that the Escape gets 36 mpg in the city and 31 mpg on the highway.

Greater fuel economy is becoming more of a hot topic as gas prices continue to soar. As of April 6, the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas in Colorado Springs was $2.19.2 ($2.21.6 for Colorado), according to AAA Colorado. The national average was $2.22.8.

Celeste isn't the only person trying to squeeze the most out of every tank full of fuel. New Orleans Saints safety Steve Gleason has avoided rising oil prices by refusing to put gasoline in his car.

Gleason drives a 2001 Volkswagen Jetta, which gets 50 mpg on a vegetable oil and methanol-based fuel called biodiesel.

Market forces drive this country more than an earnest desire to be good but gas prices are rising and people are looking for alternatives, Gleason said. They're realizing there is a smarter, better way to fuel our cars, trucks and buses.

Known for being environmentally friendly and greatly improving gas mileage, hybrids combine two or more sources of power, generally gasoline and electricity. Alternative fuel vehicles run on vegetable oils, grain alcohols such as methanol, gases such as hydrogen and electricity.

More than 84,000 hybrid vehicles were sold in the United States last year, according to greencarcongress.com, a Web site about automotive technology. Automotive research firm J.D. Power and Associates estimates 220,000 hybrids will be sold this year and more than 500,000 will be sold annually by 2008 as dealers begin to offer more hybrid models.

As gas prices increase, so does pressure on the federal government and automakers to wean consumers away from fossil fuels.

Hybrids are becoming increasingly popular, said Brad Berman, editor of Hybridcars.com. A hybrid will save somewhere between a couple hundred and almost $1,000 a year at the pumps, he said.

Eight hybrid models are available in the United States - the Toyota Prius, the Ford Escape, the full-size GM pickups Silverado and Sierra, the Honda Accord, Civic and Insight, and the 2006 Lexus RX 400h luxury hybrid SUV.

At our dealership we have about 50 (RX 400h's) that are pre- sold, said Milt Calhoun of Lexus of Colorado Springs. Lexus as a whole across the nation has about 12,000 that are sold. We probably have a 10-month waiting list.

The Lexus hybrid is very much like the RX 330 model, Calhoun said. It's the same body, it's the same engine, he said. Without a rear entertainment system, the Lexus RX 400h is selling for $49,600, he said.

Daimler Chrysler, Ford, GMC and Nissan plan to release hybrid car and truck models by 2007. Toyota plans to offer hybrid versions of all its cars by 2010.

The Ford hybrid is proving popular. We brought one from about 800 miles away for one of our customers, said Shawn Moshrefi of Phil Long Ford. The dealership does not have any more of the vehicles to sell, he said.

Honda and Toyota hybrid models also are making a splash in the market. We sell everything they give us, said Allen Wallace of Team Honda in Colorado Springs. Team Honda sells about seven Accord hybrids a month, Wallace said.

Ken Wroblewski of Toyota of Colorado Springs doesn't even have access to the Toyota Prius. The problem, if it can be called that, is that the dealership can't keep the hybrid cars in stock.

There's none here for us to drive, he said. They wouldn't let me buy one if I wanted to. Toyota is trying to keep up with demand as well, but they can't build 'em fast enough.

Gleason said he shopped for an environmentally friendly vehicle when hybrid technology was in its infancy and consumers were limited to a few compact cars.

Instead of dropping $25,000 on a hybrid he didn't like, Gleason began looking at alternative fuels. He discovered biodiesel and bought his used diesel engine car for $10,000.

The diesel engine was designed to run on vegetable oil. It was altered to use petroleum-based fuel but can still run on vegetable- based fuels without any mechanical alterations, he said.

The United States has about 20 biodiesel plants, mainly in the Northeast and West Coast, with another 20 to open across the country by 2007, said Jenna Higgins of the National Biodiesel Board.

Biodiesel fuel ranges from $2.75 a gallon in pure form to $1.80 a gallon when mixed with additives including methanol and petrol- diesel.

I think it's becoming obvious that the petroleum levels throughout the world are finite and diminishing, Gleason said. Once we're out of oil that's it. It's gone whereas you can grow corn or soy every year.

Consumers don't just save money with hybrids. Many think they are saving the country. After surveying 1,013 adults March 17, two of three told the Civil Society Institute of Newton Centre, Mass., it is patriotic to buy a fuel-efficient vehicle that uses less gasoline.

Americans understand the significance of making more fuel- efficient vehicles available for purchase, said Graham Hueber, who conducted the study. Soaring gasoline prices and continuing worries about U.S. dependency on Middle Eastern oil appear to be the big factors behind the widespread support for more fuel-efficient vehicles.

According to the New York-based Natural Resources Defense Council, the United States spends $200,000 every minute on foreign oil.

CSI advocates raising the federal fuel efficiency standard to 40 mpg. Federal standards are 27.5 mpg for cars and 20.7 mpg for light trucks, which includes SUVs, minivans and pickups.

The benefits of making 40 mpg the standard for all autos in the United States are obvious to Americans - consumers save money, we reduce our reliance on Middle Eastern oil and air pollution is reduced, said Pam Solo, president of the Civil Society Institute.

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