Chex, as you're seeing from these comments there is a lot of misplaced pride and some ignorance when it comes to hybrid cars (as well as any alternative fueled vehicle).
I've been involved with hybrid and alternative vehicles for several years so I'll try to pass on some things I've learned.
Some marketers and over-zealous environmentalists have been too aggressive promoting these cars, and since most people dislike change they’ve been put off. Some of these environmentalists mean well but get too pushy… the marketers are pushing for a buck of course. The bottom line is these types of vehicles are unlikely to go away because our problems with dwindling oil supply, pollution, and fuel costs are real. But those problems are not hitting most people hard enough for them to take them seriously, and too many of them choose to heckle the messenger. We won’t open their eyes by trying to force anything on them, and definitely not by fighting with them. We need to try to educate them as friendly and fact conscious as we can, and trust them to use reason.
A big issue is “are hybrids cost-effective compared to the conventional versions of those cars”? At the state of today’s technology and costs, it’s hard to say “yes”. If you only consider the cost difference between the two cars vs. the money saved in gas by a hybrid, break-even takes years. It’s hard to precisely calculate because gas prices fluctuate… but overall they trend up, shortening the break-even time.
Another big issue is maintenance and reliability. Hybrids are more complex than conventional cars so they potentially can cost more money to maintain. However, concerns about expensive battery pack replacement costs have shown to be mostly unfounded. The Fusion is too new to accurately predict maintenance and reliability costs for its hybrid version… about all we can do is assume it will perform similarly to hybrid cars that have been on the market longer (like the Prius), plus factor in Ford’s typical performance (in this case).
To resonate with the age group (30 – 50) you’re targeting you need to focus upon things that most interest them (instead of things that may interest people of all ages). Your group is most likely just starting families and are just starting to feel confident about their career statuses (as much as anybody can these days) but also likely have a lot of debt. They’re young enough to appreciate flash, but are accepting that they’ll need at least one vehicle that is less flashy and more practical. They are still young enough that they’re probably still idealistic about changing the world and saving the environment et. al., but measured against everyday practical needs.
Because today’s hybrid version of any car is more expensive than its conventional version, although this age group might want to help “save the world” they’ve got a lot of real life pressures to address for themselves first. So they’re likely receptive to hybrids, and may be willing to pay slightly more for one, but the sales pitch needs to show it’s practical in the long run. You can do that with reasonable interpretation of gas price trends and projections. You can emphasize warranty coverage of the scary new technology bits, and again reasonably apply the past histories of similar cars. You can ask them to consider a hybrid as an “option” on the regular car, in the vein of a high-powered sound system for example, and point out that some options potentially aid resale values more than others (in this case, if gas prices continue to increase then the higher mpg hybrid could be more attractive). But be careful not to over-promise or hype up possible “benefits” of a hybrid – a lot of people already distrust the marketers and environmentalists that have come before you.
