Myth? Right. It depends on how your government taxes petrol and diesel. So if it’s more expensive for you, that doesn’t mean it’s more expensive for everyone.

There are few US diesels because they can’t meet emission requirements due to high-levels of sulpher in US diesel fuel.

Low-sulphur diesel is mandated to come online later this year, though it may be delayed.

Many automakers have US deisels ready to go once the low-sulphur fuel is available.

Trevor, Hybrids arent about helping the economy, they’re about reducing the consumption of petrolium. This is about saving something that mankind has only one shot at getting right: OUR HOME…EARTH. Dollars and cents wont mean anything when the earth is a flooded, toxic wasteland. If you really cared about the environment, you would put down your political agenda and work with liberals and other people alike to solve this problem. We’re all humans and we all live on earth, regardless of our moral and social ideals.

back on topic, I think makers of hybrid cars should be educating the masses about the benefits of their technologies…well, at least more of an effort. I live in smoggy so-cal, and I RARELY hear or see any literature, radio commercials, TV spots, or even bilboards with anything but “it saves you money on gas!”

That’s because diesel gets a tax break by several governments because they think it’s greener or something, which it isn’t. So it is expected that this tax break will disappear some time in the future and diesel will cost more or equal to petrol.
Btw, in Switzerland petrol costs less than diesel fuel.

i would hope they’d fail to mention it, a petrol-electric hybrid does not use alternative fuel, it uses petrol. unless you actually plug it in to charge the batts, but i’m not aware of any that work in such a fashion (at least here in the US). otherwise it draws 100% of its motive power from petrol just like any other vehicle.

IGNORANCE! Ha! The Brits and other Europeans are not ingnorant of “…greener motoring…”, they’re living greener motoring. Their prices for petrol and diesel have forced them to care about getting great mileage and strong power out of their motorvehicles.

It’s us Americans who are ingorant. The hybrid hype is a load of crap, just an appeasment to our self-righteous social elite. Hybrids don’t help the economy any more than American football is accepted in the rest of the world. (Candadian indoor exluded.)

We’ll really see change when the highest spending automotive market decides to join the rest of the world’s automotive economy.

I’m a right-wing, pro-capitalism, anti-socialist, anti-liberal who loves the possibility of helping the environment by using biodiesel in diesel trucks and cars, even with the global warming myth fueling the poorly educated, ignorant masses.

The reason they don’t know or care much about hybrids is that hybrids aren’t actually economical yet, we (Americans) just think that they are. Look at the milage of european cars, both gas and diesel, they’re hardly anymore thirsty than a prius hybrid. Not to mention the fact that their economical cars cost a third of what a new prius costs. You do the math, hybrids might make sense someday, but right now, it’s hard to say they actually save you money, since you sacrifice all your performance already (Yes some like the Accord V6h and GS450h are exceptions)

jim