Ledger-Dispatch

By Scott Thomas Anderson (sanderson@ledger-dispatch.c= om)=20

The Toyota Prius is one of the = best-selling=20 hybrid vehicles on the market. It can be purchased locally at = Prospect=20 Motors/Amador Toyota, along with hybrid versions of the Toyota = Camry and=20 Highlander.

Photo by: Courtesy to the Ledger=20 Dispatch
Do you feel like your = wallet's being=20 bludgeoned to death every time you stop to fuel up at the pump? While = some=20 people in Amador County are vehemently opposed to the concept of = man-made global=20 warming, the ever-spinning numbers on gas station marquees present their = own=20 depressing reality that is hard to deny.

The revelation that gas = prices=20 are expected to climb to a record-breaking $4 a gallon by summer is now = causing=20 many in the foothills to think about buying alternative energy vehicles = - to=20 sort through the growing number of options and determine their own car = of the=20 future.

On Saturday, oil imports were at their highest rate ever, = $105 a=20 barrel. On Monday they were at $107. Just 24 hours later, they were at = $109.=20 While the nation's five largest oil companies have netted $440 billion = dollars=20 in profit for the last six years, they continue to cite industry = variables, such=20 as refinement problems, taxes and speculation in futures of the market, = as=20 reasons gas prices continue to break one price ceiling after another. =

In=20 Amador County, the drivers who are hurt most are commuters. The area's = 2000=20 census found that more than 33 percent of Amador's work force commuted = to=20 Sacramento, Stockton or beyond. Members of Foothill Rideshare said that = number=20 may be higher today.

Commuters have some options to decrease the = infamous "pain at the pump." At the moment, the buzz is hybrid=20 vehicles.

"We've seen a pretty steady interest in hybrid vehicles = in the=20 last few years," said John Blacklock, a sales and leasing associate at = Prospect=20 Motors/Amador Toyota. "The level of enthusiasm seems tied to dramatic = spikes and=20 fluctuations in gas prices. Every time there's a major upheaval in crude = oil,=20 hybrid sales go up. I expect the interest in them to hit really high = once gas is=20 over $4 a gallon." Amador Toyota currently sells three different hybrid = models:=20 the Toyota Prius, the Toyota Camry Hybrid, and the Toyota Highlander = Hybrid.=20 Toyota expects to add two new truck models in the fall.

Lexus and = Honda=20 are also strongly competing in the new hybrid market. So what are the = major=20 advantages to hybrids? While each model varies, hybrids are generally = thought to=20 have about 150 percent better fuel economy than typical cars. Many can = glide=20 silently on electric power alone in stop-and-go traffic or urban speeds = between=20 10 and 15 miles an hour. They also release 30 to 50 percent less = greenhouse gas=20 emissions like carbon dioxide than normal cars.

While Blacklock=20 acknowledges that most hybrid owners he's dealt with are very happy with = their=20 purchases, he stresses consumers should be aware that they have to own = hybrids=20 longer than regular cars to get a good return on their investment. He = also said=20 that newer technologies would soon be on the market, such as a = plug-in/hybrid=20 Prius combination which Toyota is now working on. This model would be = good for=20 about 20 miles before starting its regular motor.

"At the end of = the=20 day, what most people are looking for is fuel efficiency," Blacklock = said. "The=20 hybrids are efficient, but we also have some more affordable regular = cars that=20 are extremely fuel efficient, like the Toyota Yaris, which gets about 36 = miles=20 to the gallon, or the Corolla - which is bigger and provides more = collision=20 protection; and also does pretty well on gas mileage."

While=20 environmental and economic experts alike recognize the value of the = kinds of=20 "first fuel" vehicles Blacklock refers to (meaning highly efficient = regular=20 cars), superior gas performance from hybrids is causing them to steal = the lion's=20 share of the hype.

Tyler Summersett of the Calaveras Council of=20 Government was recently able to obtain state funding to buy his county = their=20 first hybrid vehicle, a Toyota Prius. "We've already ordered it and = you'll see=20 it on the road in April," Summersett confirmed. "We're trying to address = air=20 quality in our county through carpooling and cleaner vehicles. It's an=20 experimental program we're just getting off the ground. We'll be loaning = our=20 hybrid to Foothill Rideshare and we hope that it will help people with = their gas=20 bill through encouraging car pooling, as well as owning more efficient=20 vehicles."

For Bill Condrashoff of Jackson, hybrids are good, = but fully=20 electric cars are better. Condrashoff said that a number of major car = builders=20 are working on plug-in vehicles. Currently, the only fully electric car = on the=20 market is the Tesla, a two-seat, high-performance sports car which costs = about=20 $100,000.

However, a much different, and stranger, all-electric = vehicle=20 will soon be on roadways. The Aptera may look like a glimmering = star-fighter=20 from a George Lucas film, but the soon-to-be released car can drive for = 300=20 miles on $3 of home electricity. Boasting a top speed of 70 mph, as well = as=20 capacity to move over 125 miles before recharging, Wired Magazine named = it the=20 winner in its race "to build the Supergreen Car." Because the Aptera has = three=20 wheels, its insurance provides a savings in the form of motorcycle-type = rates,=20 and unlike the Tesla, it will sell on the market for around $30,000.=20

Condrashoff is thinking hard about purchasing an Aptera or = something=20 similar on the horizon. "Saving money and reducing our carbon foot-print = is only=20 part of it," he said. "Going fully electric is the only way Americans = will=20 eventually break the stranglehold Middle Eastern countries have over us. = It's=20 both a national security issue and a tax issue. Right now, our taxes are = subsidizing the oil industry through all our efforts to promote peace in = the=20 Middle East. We'll be held hostage to that part of the world until we = come up=20 with something better."

Scott Thomas = Anderson