Road And Track Gives Performance Car Of The Year Award To It's First Hybrid

Article: re Hybrids "This is the new world order. Get used to it."

I'm not so sure of that. It seems to me that Hybrids are merely a stopgap solution designed to improve the fuel economy and lower the emissions of an internal combustion engine (ICE) while getting over the range anxiety, long recharge times, and potentially higher cost of a pure EV, like a Tesla S.

Hybrids are a stopgap and a compromise between ICE and EV, though for some people, a very suitable one.

But if you can imagine an EV that...
+ has a range of 400+ miles (REAL miles, not just claimed)
+ fully recharges in 15 minutes
+ has charging facilities as common as gas stations
+ costs about as much to purchase as an ICE equivalent
+ has batteries that will easily outlive the car
+ has less frequent and less costly repairs than ICE
...then it's *easy* to imagine Hybrids and ICE going away entirely!

That's why I don't believe that hybrids are "the new world order", as stated in the article.

Seems like this "stopgap solution" and "compromise" has been going on for quite a while. Heck, only Toyota, Honda, GM, Ford, MB, Porsche, etc. are using this stop gap measure. Kinda like that automatic transmission and ABS thingmajiggy.

To put you statements into perspective, we must note:

1) In 2000, Hybrid sales accounted for just 9,350 units

2) Hybrid sales broke 100,000 units per year only as recently as 2005

3) Hybrid sales and market share peaked in 2013 (495,529 units, 6.3% share)

4) By 2015, hybrid sales declined to just 384,404 units, below 5% share. This represents a 22.4% decline from the peak in 2013.

5) For the past 3 years, Hybrid unit sales and market share are in decline, while pure EV sales and market share are climbing (though EV numbers are still small, and led primarily by Tesla’s rapid growth).

Meanwhile, automatic transmissions and ABS are standard in virtually every car sold. Quite a difference, wouldn’t you agree?

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[1] All unit sales and market share data are for USA only, accurate as at the end of 2015 calendar year. 2016 calendar year figures are partial only.

How long did it take for ABS and automatic transmission to become pervasive? Hybrid is an altogether different technology, and it has done quite well to push other companies into using it, don't you agree? If it's stop gap, it sure has gotten traction not only with the customers but also across different competitors. That's hardly the characteristic of stop gap and compromise. But let's wait and see, it's been only 15 years after all.

R&T is sooooo predictable