Prove Rush Limbaugh Wrong—Get Behind the Hybrid

I don't wish to open a can of culture-war worms here, so I'm just going to focus on one particularly unproductive statement recently made by uber popular talk show host Rush Limbaugh. According to AutoBlog, the so-called "new face of the Republican Party" has this to say about hybrid electric cars:

Nobody's buying 'em. Nobody wants them! The manufacturers are making them in droves to satisfy Obama! Sorry for yelling. Nobody wants them!

Before you get instinctively irked upon hearing this quote (as I did), a couple things must be pointed out: Limbaugh's sort of right about a couple things. First, at the moment, hybrids sales are way down. Sales have been plummeting since around last December, in fact. But last I heard, non-hybrid car sales weren't exactly through the roof. And my memory might be off here, but didn't a couple of the biggest car makers in America go a-pleadin' to Washington for bailout money since their non-hybrid cars weren't selling so hot? Hm. Seems to ring a bell.

So yeah—nobody's buying hybrids. But nobody's buying anything—not even underwear. It's called a massive recession, buddy.

Rush is semi-right about another thing—the auto manufacturers are stubbornly making fuel efficient vehicles at Obama's behest. But only because the Big 3 didn't have the sense to do it themselves, even while Japanese car companies were surging ahead with hybrids—instead, they staked their futures on SUVs. Guess how those are selling now, by the way? Hint: not so well (they're down some 40% from last year).

It's true Obama told the automakers they need to make greener cars—but just so the auto companies can merely remain financially viable into a future where oil prices continue to rise, and people seek cars that get better gas mileage. A future the Big 3 evidently couldn't see for themselves. Obama buying fuel efficient cars for the government fleet is a step in the right direction to help light a fire under Detroit's pistons.

Lastly: nobody wants to buy hybrids? Well, put frankly, that's absolute nonsense. Some 1 million Americans own hybrids now, and car lovers everywhere are drooling over gorgeous new electric cars like the Tesla Model S. Many are hotly anticipating Honda's new Insight hybrid, which will retail for under $20,000.

So let's prove Limbaugh wrong—make the next car you buy a hybrid, even if you're not planning on buying a car anytime soon. Just publicly acknowledging you support for a greener auto industry, and discussing such points with friends can help combat misinformation like Rush's. And really, it should be easy to do: between the Prius, the Insight, and newcomers like the Tesla cars, the future of a greener auto industry is looking bright indeed.