Why Have Hybrids Failed To Catch On?

Financially, I don't think they save you all and most people are ultimately more interested in THE CAR THEY ARE INTERESTED IN THE MOST (styling has a lot to do with this). If there is a Hybrid version of the car they are already interested in they might consider it. But most cars do not have a hybrid version. Even if they do, there's the added upfront cost.

Buyers don't want to be limited on choice. Personally, I'm not enamored with the added weight, redundancy, and ecological factors of the batteries anyway.

Good points, which is why the luxury hybrids make sense if you can afford it. The RXh looks "better" than the RX gas, same goes for the GS and LS hybrids.

But I think the title of this article is a bit misleading. Who said they have failed to catch on? Prius, Fusion hybrid are great examples of vehicles that are doing well

I think there is a niche for those that rank fuel mileage and "saving the planet" at the top of their list. These are more "point A" to "point B" types.

Hybrid versions of cars that have non-hybrid versions I see as a middle ground. The buyer probably would have bought that car anyway (caring more about style and utility) and they bought the hybrid version for the fuel savings or that "saving the planet" factor (and they don't mind the extra outlay of $$$).

why aren't they catching on in europe?

Because Europe embraces the diesel. Masses of torque, high economy and taxation benefits to boot.

I wanted performance first and efficiency second. That's why I bought a diesel.

They havn't caught on yet? I see plenty of Hybrids here in NY. The Prius is everywhere and there are a lot of hybrid Camrys and such running around. I'd say it has caught on. Actually,I had a Prius as a rental. I use to say it was trash and I would never own one. After having one for a month I would actually consider purchasing one as a family car. Theres plenty of room,its comfy and when you hit the power button its not that terrible. Ive driven slower cars. Handling is not as bad as you think and it would be a perfect city car.Those tires need to go though as they were squeeling all over the place even while driving easy. Brakes also need to be updated as I drove the car not too hard and within that month they began to squeal and lose grip severely.Honestly, just the fact I filled the car up once and than put half a tank another time while beating on the car and driving from work,stores and 2 trips to upstate new york from manhattan were enough for me to consider the car.And this is coming from someone who owns several performance cars and works with exotics all day.

Top Three Reasons Hybrids have troubles gaining market share

1. No real cost advantage(savings) over traditional gas vehicles unless driven well over 100k miles.

2. Hybrids tend to be smaller cars that offer compromised performance in an effort to gain efficiency(small, quirky designed, uninspiring vehicles)

3. The people that already drive Hybrids.

Because they are boring and bland!
Diesel is the way to go because of power and efficiency. Also, it doesnt help that some hybrid vehicles put their decals all over the place! Like the chevy tahoe hybrid, why do they need to put a huge decal on each side? so tacky!

Right now the "hybrid" concept is very weakly done, and these weak drivetrains are mostly put into pretty lame vehicles.

The Volt is the first genuine "strong" hybrid, so things are going to be improving shortly...though at first at a price premium.