Auto Trends

There has been talk through a variety of sources that the electromagnetic field of hybrids may have some potential to cause sickness among some people. There is no solid proof mind you… but it has been said to be just something we need to keep our eye on over the next few years.

With this said, there has been talk as of the past week that some people have already returned their hybrids, stating that it was making them nauseous, sleepy, dizzy, etc. With things heating up around the hybrid front, we thought it important to go ahead and dig into this situation a bit more:

The science behind these returns and accusations is the fear that high voltage electricity produces an unhealthy EMF (Electromagnetic Field). This is something we have known for years, and thus has been the brunt of a number of studies by the cancer institute. There is some evidence that suggests a risk factors of living too close to high voltage utility lines as causing sickness in humans, including Leukemia among children.

While a hybrid isn’t exactly a high voltage utility line, it does carry substantial voltage through the car (150 to 250 volts) to the electric engines. As to date there is no government mandate as to how much EMF is too much, so manufacturers have never had to worry about such numbers.

With these accusations amidst, both Honda and Toyota have released press statements stating that their hybrids pose no additional EMF than any regular combustion car and therefore pose no additional risk.

Toyota’s Prius spokesperson, “The measured electromagnetic fields inside and outside of Toyota hybrid vehicles in the 50 to 60 hertz range are at the same low levels as conventional gasoline vehicles. Therefore there are no additional health risks to drivers, passengers or bystanders.”

After what seemed to be a clear rebuttal to these statements a number of posts popped up on the Internet from consumers who had purchased their own Trifield meter ($145) and took some measurements themselves and claim the meter tipped the scales beyond what the spokespersons were saying.

Of course it needs to be noted with just how much accuracy are these car owners able to achieve such readings on their own. But none-the-less it has stirred some souls out there and built up enough worry in peoples minds that some of them at the very least probably made themselves sick, if nothing else, just by all their worrying.

This should probably have no significant damage to the hybrid for the long haul, but it may knock off a few sales over the next few months.

Are you at all concerned about the hybrid health risks… or is all this talk just a bunch of fear mongering?

J.D. Powers and Associates reported a few months ago (based on responses from 44,931principal drivers of new cars and trucks):

“While Many New-Vehicle Buyers Express Concern for the Environment, Few are Willing to Pay More for An Environmentally Friendly Vehicle.”

The survey shows that only 1 in 10 of folks interested in doing their part for the environment were actually willing to put their money where their mouth was and splurge on buying a hybrid. Of these 1 in 10, the majority of them were highly educated women with high income levels and fell in the median age range of 50 years old.

Men are still a bit down on the whole hybrid idea. Perhaps it is the non-sports appeal that many of the current models exude, or perhaps it is because they do not have a 400 horsepower muscle car variety with a loud grumble yet available.

Beyond the hybrid scene, while many of these folks were not willing to spend the extra $5,000, most of them were in fact likely to purchase a fuel economical compact sized vehicle. Most of them in fact already had a fairly economical vehicle… just not a hybrid.

With the slow sales of SUV’s the past few months (some dealerships claim they can hardly give these things away), many of the manufacturers have turned to hybrid technology to once again hopefully pick up the consumer market on those once popular lumbering family haulers. So far it looks like consumers are turning to smaller gasoline compacts.

Of all the attention the hybrid market is getting these days it is still a surprise to find that the actual market itself is only about 2.3 percent of new cars sold. But this is almost certain to rise over the course of the years a gas buyers begin to realize that they are probably never going to see the likes of the upper $2 range per gallon ever again in their lifetime.

As gas prices excel and “gas guzzler” sales dwindle, manufacturers have turned to the use of the magic word “hybrid” to once again grab hold of some resemblance of a market audience. What such a phenomenon has brought to us however is a series of hybrid vehicles that are truly embarrassments of their own kind. They are no better on gas than an ancient 2-valve, 350 cubic inch small block with a Holley double pump carburetor!

Well, maybe a little… but not much. Let’s take a look at a few of these wolves hidden in sheep’s clothing:

1. 2007/2009 GMC Sierra Hybrid-Last year the GMC Sierra became a feature on the Internet as one of the worst fuel economical hybrids you could buy. At 15 mpg, you might as well have been running a supercharger rather than that electric motor, then at least you could have had some real fun for your $80 per tank fill-up. In the attempts to redeem themselves, the Sierra has a new rendition set to come out this October that promises 20 mpg. While this is a marked improvement, there are going to be several SUV hybrid models in the mid 30 mpg’s. So unless you really need that much truck, there are better options. The Sierra Hybrid is still going to cost you an arm and a leg to operate at over $4.00 per gallon.

2. 2007/2009 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid- With basically the same platform as the Sierra, the Silverado Hybrid was a similar story with only 15 mpg to show for itself in 2007. We can expect the similar upgraded dual electric motors for 2009 and around 20 mpg. Yeah, they are improving… but so is everybody else!

3. 2007/2008 Lexus LS 600h- We could understand a full-size truck in the 20 mpg range, but a luxury sedan hybrid? The Lexus 600h (the “h” stands for “hold onto your wallet”) also topped several lists on the Web last year as having one of the worst hybrid fuel economy for 2007. The 2008 Lexus hybrid is no better at 20 mpg. When it comes to hybrid technology, this sedan is all talk. Lexus already had a smack on the wrist in Europe for claiming its hybrids were better for the environment than they really are.

4. 2007/2008 Lexus GS 450h- Not to pick on Lexus, but their GS 450h fell short on the hybrid list both last year and this year as well, coming in at just 23 mpg. It’s a high ranked car with a quality build, but nobody could ever accuse the 450h as being a gas tea toddler.

5. 2007/2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid- The Saturn Vue hybrid was on this list last year, matching the Highlander on mpg (26), but this year it bumped itself up to 32, so the finger of SUV shame falls solely on the Highlander this year.

The word hybrid has become a status symbol today that is being used to discern between those who care about the environment and those who don’t. But don’t let that fool you… these 5 vehicles are a perfect example of how the “h”-word has become more of a fad than an actual cause!