Hyundai’s Prius-Fighting Hybrid

Good update on highly anticipated hybrid coming soon to compete with Toyota in particular.

The article brings up a more important issue, though, that we want to focus on.  That is, why is the bottom dropping out on sale of hybrids?  Are people that short sighted that a dip in gas prices convinces them they'd rather buy cars that burn more fuel and add greatly to our air carbon levels?  Is our commitment to migrating away from fossil fuels that specious and lacks any depth of knowledge or conviction?

Clearly, hybrids and EV's have tremendous financial benefits.  They also give you the pure pleasure of driving many miles without stopping for gas.  Hard to believe the only motivator for the vast majority of consumers is below $2 gas.  It says volumes about our selfishness and complete failure to care about the environment and its condition when we pass it on.

Hyundai’s Prius-Fighting Hybrid Uncovered In Spy Shots

by Justin Hyde

In the 15 years since Toyota launched the Prius hybrid, no automaker has come close to its sales success worldwide. Hyundai plans to change all that with this car, named the Ioniq, shown here for the first time uncovered in spy shots.

With gas prices below $2 a gallon in parts of the United States, any new hybrid/electric sedan faces a tough audience. Sales of hybrids have shrunk this year even as the larger market boomed—and about 75 percent of the hybrids that did sell wore either a Toyota or Lexus badge. With the all-new Prius hitting dealers now, Toyota will be pushing the car toward new buyers and launching a series of variants to fill out the line.

All of which makes the Ioniq’s task that much harder—but unlike most automakers who’ve fiddled with hybrids as a hobby, Hyundai has followed Toyota’s playbook and committed to the task. The Ioniq will be its own model, not a subset of an existing sedan, riding an all-new chassis designed for hybrids and electric power. The sleek hatch shape mimics the Prius, Honda Insight and other models designed for maximum aerodynamic efficiency, and in these shots looks fairly handsome.

Hyundai has said it will build the Ioniq in three versions: all-electric, plug-in hybrid and regular gas-electric hybrid running lithium-ion batteries. Power for the non-electric versions will also come from a 1.6-liter four-cylinder. After official debuts this spring, it should start hitting dealers late in 2016, with prices right in line with those of the Prius.