AM MAGAZINE SHELL - Australian Automotive Aftermarket Magazine

NEWSCOST HINDERSGREEN PUSHHYBRIDS TOO EXPENSIVE AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTTOO UNRELIABLE, SURVEY REVEALS.Australians are not taking up green motoring moves becauseof unreliable public transport systems and the high cost ofhybrid cars, according to a recent survey.The survey by automotivewebsite carsguide.com.au wasconducted to coincide withWorld Environment Day on June5, and found that Australiansprefer to drive to places they canalso reach by walking or takingpublic transport.The carsguide.com.au surveycompleted by 1075 respondentsalso found a huge 98 percent ofrespondents do not own a hybridcar even though thisenvironmentally friendly optionhas been on the market for morethan 10 years.Of the majority of Australianswho don’t own hybrid cars, 41percent said they are tooexpensive and 28 percent saidthat the hybrid car model isn’twhat they are looking for in acar.Despite knowing that hybridcars are economical andenvironmentally friendly, 44percent of respondents stillwould not purchase a hybrid car.Thirty-one percent ofrespondents who do not usepublic transport said it wasbecause public transport is aninconvenience, while 30 percentsaid the system was unreliable.More than half ofrespondents said that wherepossible, they do not organisecarpooling, mainly because theyprefer to do things in their owntime and don’t like having towait for others.More than half ofrespondents bought a new car inthe last two years, and the mainreason was because drivers wantan ‘updated car’.“The carsguide.com.ausurvey showed that despiterising fuel costs and a tighteconomy, Australians wouldprefer to drive to places wherethey can walk or take publictransport,” carsguide.com.aueditor Karla Pincott said.“Where we expected a jumpin the number of hybrid carsbeing sold, the survey hasconfirmed that Australians don’tyet think the rising price ofpetrol justifies a change.“Although hybrid vehicleshave been around for a numberof years and even with thecurrent fuel crisis, the majorityof Australians are notconsidering them as a seriousoption.”The subject of biofuels hasreceived a lot of attention lately;however 45 percent of surveyrespondents acknowledged thatwhile bio-fuels were good atreducing the carbon emissionsof cars, they raised otherenvironmental issues such asland clearing and foodshortages.“The good news is that bothcuriosity and knowledge aboutalternative fuel cars is growing,”Ms Pincott said.The website features a‘green’ motoring sectionwhich can be found atcarsguide.news.com.au/site/motoring-news/greener_motoring/AU T O M O T I V E A F T E R M A R K E T M AG A Z I N E AU G U ST 2 0 0 8 15