Any news on when Honda will finally drop this "performance" version of the hybrid Accord and use a 4-cyl/IMA setup?

Good news.

I must say that these charts are the most beautiful I have seen for a long time. They show that we are moving toward hybrids, gas savings and national energy security.

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Harvey,

I agree this is good, but if hybrids only represent 1.7% of light duty vehicles, this is not likely to make a big difference soon. The trends are encouraging, though.

I think we will see a larger impact sooner from the business sector, as they seem to be moving quickly to adopt hybrids for delivery and mass transportation. I don't know what percent of gasoline use is represented by commercial transport vs. private autos. Does anyone have this information?

Toyota: Great decision to ship the Camry with a 4 cylinder ice vs. the Accords’ 6 cylinder. Forty mpg trumps the Accord’s 30 mpg. I wonder if the same logic would apply to whoever comes out with a 100+ mpg PHEV??!

"I would like to see info added with this article about the market share of diesel light duty vehicles"

Here's what I found for 2005 statistics from Just-auto.com:

"Year-on-year figures suggest that diesel registrations within the light duty segment rose by 30% in 2005. Move the accounting period back to 2000 and broaden the scope out to include light and medium duty vehicles, and the increase is over 80%, from just over 300,000 units to 543,777 last year. But stick with just the light duty segment, and the increase is one of 95%, from 22,543 units in 2000 to 44,031 in 2005."

It seems US sells quite a few light duty diesels, relative to hybrids. I know there are a lot of die-hard fans of diesel out there. I believe diesel has its place, but sometimes I view this as people fighting over two-halves of a pie.

JD Power predicted that diesel ownership in US will TRIPLE in the next ten years. Some people may think that is a good thing, but it could also end up to be a double-edged sword.

We are all well aware that the diesel gospel is that diesel vehicles are more efficient. But let's say that refining capacity will not change significantly, people trading in a gasoline car for a diesel will add to the demand of diesel, but ease on the demand of gasoline. So while overall fuel usage is lower, the price of diesel could spike under such a scenario.

Sure, there will probably be an increase in capacity in the future, and biodiesel plants will help, but somehow I have a feeling that will not be enough. For now, luckily the price premium of a diesel is on par with some hybrids. In 2008, 2009, when next generation of diesels and hybrids are released... if diesel wins the popularity contest, I have no doubt that diesel prices will increase substantially.

High diesel prices will not only affect diesel owners, but the cost of transporting goods will also increase, adding more pressure to the dreaded "I" word.

I would like to see info added with this article about the market share of diesel light duty vehicles

Hmm. VW pretty much owns that market for MY2006. I believe the only two others are the Liberty and the 320 CDI.

VW sales in July were 22,627 units. An earlier GCC post indicated the company reached a record level of 22% of total US sales being diesel in April. So, assume it's now about 25% at the upper end. That's about 5,700 diesel vehicles.

The Liberty (all fuels) sold 9,702 units in July, and the entire E-Series for Mercedes sold 4,479 units. Assume 10% for each one, and that's about 1,400 more.

Ballpark I'd say around 8,000 units for July would be a good guess. That would come to around 0.5% of LDV sales and about 1/3 of hybrid sales.

I'm pretty sure VW isn't offering MY2007 diesels, and I also believe the Liberty CRD is being discontinued next model year as well.

JM:

Hybrids (+ PHEVs soon) market share will increase rapidly with many more models coming to the market + relative cost coming down, reducing the current price difference to about $2000.

A carbon/gas tax of $1 to $2/gal would also help to accellerate the transition but it won't come in an election year nor with the current administration.

The Middle East ongoing instability may achieve the same results but many $$ billions will be going to different-unfriendly hands.

Carbon tax isn't coming in any off election year either. Only in a treehuggers wet dream.

The luxury GS 450h hybrid sold 157 units—52.5% of combined GS 430/GS 450h sales, and 7.6% of all GS model sales (GS 300, GS 430 and GS 450h).
thanks for remembering this Mike!

Patrick, each automaker's data comes from the automakers either directly or in their monthly sales reports. The total LDV data is from Autodata.

I am also interested in the sales figures for high mpg vehicles in general as well because some people cannot afford the hybrids and yet want to purchase vehicles with better gas milage. An article and chart with this information would better reflect the mentality of the people making purchases with regard to their concern for rising gas prices.

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