Bay Area leads the nation in Hybrid Car Sales (Los Angeles: buying, tax)

[18Montclair]

Cars.com Names 2010 Green Cities - MarketWatch

San Francisco topped the charts, beating out all other cities based on its interest in hybrid vehicles as a percentage of total car shopping activity on Cars.com.
"This Earth Day, there is a lot for car shoppers to celebrate, including the release of the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf electric vehicles," said Cars.com Editor in Chief, Patrick Olsen. "While these new environmental darlings have yet to hit the market, eco-conscious shoppers already have more hybrid options to choose from than ever before and buying a more environmentally friendly vehicle has never been easier. Green Cities takes a look at the cities where these options are most engaging consumers."
Like last year, West Coast shoppers showed the greatest interest in hybrid vehicles. Last year's winner, Eugene, Ore., dropped to fourth. The lone cities outside of California that made the top ten are Glendive, Mont., Madison, Wis. and Gainesville, Fla. The South continues to lag behind most major cities in the country in embracing hybrid vehicles. For the second straight year, Laredo, Texas, had the dubious distinction of being last on our list.

1 San Francisco - Oakland - San Jose
2 Eureka, CA
3 Portland, OR
4 Eugene, OR
5 Glendive, MT
6 Santa Barbara -Santa Maria -San Luis Obispo, CA
7 Seattle - Tacoma, WA
8 Madison, WI
9 San Diego, CA
10 Gainesville, FL
11 Monterey - Salinas, CA
12 Chico - Redding, CA
13 Bend, OR
14 Charlottesville, VA
15 Sacramento - Stockton - Modesto, CA
16 Salt Lake City, UT
17 Medford - Klamath Falls
18 Fairbanks, Alaska
19 Missoula, MT
20 Washington DC (Hagerstown)
21 Denver
22 Austin, TX
23 Rochester - Mason City - Austin
24 Minneapolis - Saint Paul
25 Boise, ID
26 Los Angeles
27 La Crosse - Eau Claire, WI
28 Tucson (Sierra Vista), AZ
29 Boston
30 Phoenix
31 Burlington - Plattsburgh, VT
32 Mankato, MN
33 Bangor, ME
34 Helena, MT
35 Lansing, MI
36 Juneau, AK
37 Raleigh - Durham (Fayetteville), NC
38 Lexington, KY
39 Columbia - Jefferson City, MO
40 Butte - Bozeman, MT
41 Portland - Auburn, ME
42 Cedar Rapids - Waterloo & Dubuque, IA
43 Honolulu - HI
44 Palm Springs, CA
45 Fresno - Visalia, CA
46 Harrisonburg, VA
47 Lafayette, IN
48 Bakersfield, CA
49 Twin Falls, ID
50 Reno, NV

[Ceece]

I'm not surprised. I think every other car I see is a Prius. I personally wouldn't spend the extra $ for a hybrid car but I do always choose smaller, efficient vehicles over massive gas hogs. Not for "the environment", just my own preference.

[ubringliten]

Awesome!

I would like to see more small and fuel efficient cars on the road. The big gas guzzling cars are making too much noises like from the large tires, lack of aerodynamics, and big engines.

It's too bad my apt. complex doesn't have electrical outlets in the garage which prevents me from getting an all electric vehicle next year. But a hybrid's on my list!

[ubringliten]

Originally Posted by deemost

What happened to all their gas cars?

Unless they disappeared then San Francisco probably leads the nation is the number of cars that ended up in landfills.


It does not really make sense to scrap an old car that runs well and use ENERGY to build a new car that runs a better. It takes a ton of energy to build the new car. The old car then fills a landfill.

I think the gasoline cars get exported to developing countries and also for their parts.

I drive a 92 car right now, although it's driving great, but I have to fill her up pretty often and I dislike the emission coming from the tail pipes. I think it can slowly kill a person just standing there.

[californio sur]

What is also interesting is that nearly all the cities are in the Western U.S. Why is environmentalism taken so much more seriously on the West Coast?

[llowllevellowll]

Originally Posted by Ceece

I'm not surprised. I think every other car I see is a Prius. I personally wouldn't spend the extra $ for a hybrid car but I do always choose smaller, efficient vehicles over massive gas hogs. Not for "the environment", just my own preference.

I purchased a 2010 Toyota Camry Hybrid in Richmond last month - it's been a real joy to drive. They claim it gets 31/34 but that's extremely conservative. My gas mileage averages both road and highway at exactly 40.2 mpg each tank (between 570-610 miles per tank - 14 gallon).

I really didn't spend much more either - got everything out the door for 27k including tax, title, and license along with 0% financing.

I didn't do it for the environment, though, and not because I am apathetic, but I did it for my own wallet. If you compare the deal I got vs other cars, you'll see I didn't really pay much more, I'm saving a lot of money at the pump, and the resale values are some of the best in the entire industry.

Other cars I also looked at: Kia Soul, Mazda 6, Sonata, Prius, Scion.

Prius gets about 10mpg better gas mileage, but at near the same cost - if not more, and didn't feel luxurious like the Camry, obviously.

[ubringliten]

Originally Posted by deemost

They get exported? Do you mean they get shipped which then uses more energy? That sounds like musical chairs.

The way I read it is there are now more cars on the road. A peasant that was riding a donkey is now using a gas guzzler. The yuppy liberal from San Fran is now driving a Prius. The gas guzzler was loaded on a freighter which uses energy and was shipped to S. America. The new Prius then required energy to be built.

Now were is the savings and how did it improve the environment? South America is still part of the planet, isn't it?

You're right, get shipped. Yes, it's like musical chair but people are always buying new cars, so new cars are always being produced. You might as well produce more efficient cars and have them on the streets rather than the cars we have now.

And darn it, make cars that last forever.

[ElizaTeal]

Originally Posted by ubringliten

I think the gasoline cars get exported to developing countries and also for their parts.

I drive a 92 car right now, although it's driving great, but I have to fill her up pretty often and I dislike the emission coming from the tail pipes. I think it can slowly kill a person just standing there.

I don't think the "Cash for clunkers" helped developing countries, or tax payers, for that matter.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by californio sur

What is also interesting is that nearly all the cities are in the Western U.S. Why is environmentalism taken so much more seriously on the West Coast?

Because we haven't yet completely destroyed it like they have in most other places. This is why most find the west such a beautiful region. The entire continent used to be beautiful in it's own way.

On another note, I don't think people are just throwing away their old cars just to get a new hybrid. I believe these are people who were needing to replace older cars anyway and when the time came to get new cars, they chose hybrids and did so in larger numbers in the Bay Area than elsewhere. I also believe most old cars now and recycled rather than sitting in landfills, most of which were closed around the bay anyway in the 80's. If the car's not working, recycle it.

[JordanJP]

Pretty soon the Bay Area will lead the nation by having the world's first giant cloud of "smug".