“Inexpensive as it is, though, the Aura Hybrid is controversial. Toyota’s (TM) hybrid business is booming—the Prius’ sales have doubled in the first five months of 2007, to 76,747 units—and Detroit automakers want a piece of the action. But critics will say the Aura Hybrid is little more than another sign of how far behind Detroit is. That’s because the Aura Green Line is a “mild” hybrid that doesn’t have the fuel efficiency of a “full” hybrid such as the Toyota Prius and Camry.”

Business Week gives a rave review to the Saturn Aura Hybrid noting that it is the cheapest hybrid at around $23,000. Only one problem: The mileage is 28/city, 35/highway. My Honda Accord LX was $18,600 and it gets 24/34. The Toyota Prius, a true hybrid gets 51/60 at around $28,000. This is why it outsells all other hybrids. It’s also why Honda dropped its $30,000 Accord hybrid that got one mile more per gallon than my $18,600 Accord.
It’s the same story with the Ford SUV hybrids and most others- they are not true hybrid technology and there is virtually no benefit to paying extra for them.

To me this is cynical marketing at its worst. They make these vehicles so they can claim a green strategy. At least Honda pulled theirs and they still have the most fuel efficient automotive line. I’m guessing they are going back to the drawing board to compete with Toyota. Meanwhile the US carmakers fight any regulatory improvements to fuel efficiency while losing market share every day. The unions and management have to wake up and truly embrace this technology because it is in our national interest.

A note about emissions. These hybrids, with the exception of the Prius, have marginally lower emissions because they still use full size engines. My Honda, however, is what is known as a Partial Zero Emission Vehicle (PZEV) which seems to be a contradictory statement. This designation came about because of California’s strict vehicle emission standards which the Asian manufacturers apply to all their US vehicles. The US makers, for the most part, sell different cars in California to meet the standards- they’d rather pollute the states with lower standards to save a few bucks. Don’t buy American cars until they start acting responsibly. This goes for union members too- if you don’t take your heads out of the sand there aren’t going to be any union automaker jobs left at American car makers because they will be out of business.