With electric cars and plug-in hybrids generating more buzz than ever before, a new study by J.D. Power drives home a bit of reality about the green wave rolling into showrooms.
J.D. Power surveyed more than 4,000 potential car buyers and what did they find: For Most Consumers, Cost Matters More than the Environment.
When I read this I chuckled because it's what I've heard from executive after executive in the auto industry. And yes, that includes executives working on electric cars.
Skeptics will look at this and say, "What? Are you saying the zero or very low emissions coming from EV's and plug-in hybrids don't matter to car buyers?" Of course not. The fact these cars run cleaner than internal combustion cars is an attractive feature, but in general it won't be enough to drive most potential car buyers to pick a Chevy Volt or Nissan LEAF over a Chevy Cruze or Nissan Altima.
At the end of the day, most people want the best mileage/range we can get from a car, regardless of what powers it.