About how long would it take for the US to switch from fossil fuel cars to hybrid cars completely?

Question

About how long would it take for the US to switch from fossil fuel cars to hybrid cars completely?

Answer 1

Well, since I hold onto cars for 15+ years, and my dad's sports car is 28 years old, how about never?

New cars are a different matter.  However, the answer is not always in mandating hybrid cars - some regular fossil fuel cars have better fuel economy than some hybrids.  Hybrid SUVs still get lower gas mileage than my 4 year old Dodge sedan.

What is possible is to enforce are higher fuel economy laws for new cars.  Whether the car companies do so by increasing fuel economy on their existing models or discontinuing the traditional models for hybrids, we are still dependant on fossil fuels for transportation.

Bring on the E85!  Bring on the Bio-Diesel!  I want to run my car on Burger King's leftover frying oil!  That's the answer... domestic fuel sources, including ethanol.

Answer 2

Well excluding the fact your used car market would balloon up, for new cars probably fully within 5 years, as people seem to buy cars in 5 year intervals, some because of the 5 year lease.

Answer 3

It depends how fast the big 3 american companies catch up with the japanese trend of new hybrid cars. Honda and Toyota are way ahead in their hybrid technologies and it would take a while ..... in fact quite long for the american counterparts to catch up with them.

Answer 4

probely about 2020-2035

Answer 5

That would deffinately reduce the emissions put into the atmosphere every day. I think that maybe 2015 or something but by then the damage may already be done but its not to say that kids are going to buy gasoline cars because they cant afford the hybrid cars and everything. I think that gas will go down after people struggling to make ends meet and Congress puts and extreme amount of pressure on teh car companies to make every car get 40 mpg or higher. That would cut gas comsumption and emissions.

Answer 6

Ask yourself how long it would take automakers to build enough cars or the fuel source to be produced in the quantity needed.  The answer that seems safest at this point : Longer than you'd expect.

Answer 7

20 years

Answer 8

As others here pointed out, hybrid cars are fossil fuel powered.  They simply use less.  As far as when almost all cars SOLD will be hybrids?

When gas hits $12/gallon I think most consumers won't buy a car UNLESS it gets more than 50 mpg, meaning they will probably be hybrids.

And $12 gas might be closer than everyone thinks.  As the world probably passed its peak in oil production in 2004, and more people in more countries insist on buying cars that use a lot of gasoline, those companies who still have oil, will be able to charge whatever they want for it.

Protect yourself from this by selling your gas guzzlers now and looking for a more fuel efficient car.

Answer 9

As long as we use fossil fuel to generate electricity...  Even the electric cars operating off of batteries are deriving their power from fossil fuel.

The conversion to Hybrids will speed up as the technology improves and costs come down.

When you can buy a decent car for under $20,000 that runs on gasoline... or a Hybrid for $35,000+... people who have to actually work for a living will buy the less expensive car.

Make the hybrids and other green technologies pay off and people will switch.

LCD monitors used to command too high a price to be worth getting.  Now, they are inexpensive enough that the energy savings makes them pay off in as little as 6 months...  So, I now own an LCD monitor.

When its cheaper for me to get a car that doesn't use gasoline... I'll do that too.

Answer 10

At least thirty years.

Say another ten years from now until all car makers switch to hybrid (if  that happens at all).  But people still drive used cars because that's all they can afford, about twenty-year-old cars at most.  So another thirty altogether to phase it out.

Answer 11

Hybrid cars still rely partially on fossil fuels. California had some really cool electric cars a few years back, but politics, money, and oil killed them. You should watch Who Killed the Electric Car-it goes into detail about Americans, hybrids, electric cars, politics, and oil. We probably won't voluntarily switch from our SUVs to an alternative; it would take some kind of mandate meant to reserve what oil we have left for more important things to stop us from using fossil fuels for personal transportation.

Answer 12

A very very long time.

Assuming that everyone decided that they wanted to make this switch the next time they purchased a new car, most people would probably have made the change over of one car in about five years.  The second and third cars if any would probably follow in the second five years.  But there would always be a few hold outs like me.  

I tend to keep my cars for 10+ years and to stagger their purchase by about 3 yeas so, assuming I decided today to make the switch it would be at least 15 years before I was fully changed over.

Answer 13

hybrid cars are fossil fuel cars. they still use gas, just less gas.

Answer 14

I'm guessing never. Or until the world becomes so unbreathable in every corner that we'll be forced to be trapped in our homes with no place to go.

Seriously, as much as I'm in love with hybrid, we might as well be asking "When will there be no more racism?"

Hybrid cars only work with speeds below 45. After that, the gas engine takes over and it burns as much fuel as any other car would. Plus, it takes a lot of energy to make a hybrid car.

Answer 15

Long time.

Answer 16

technically speaking, hybrid cars are fossil fuel cars

currently, there is NO ALTERNATIVE to fossil fuel power for motor vehicles (except maybe electric cars powered by nuclear)

Answer 17

estimated between 20-50 years

Answer 18

I'm still waiting for a nuclear powered car.

Answer 19

the way monies are spent these days with the mismanagements...God only knows.

Answer 20

It depends on the demand from US citizens, they had the chance many  many many years ago to start kickin those babys out, but they didn't-why? BECAUSE THEY ARE EVIL MONEY SUCKIN DEVILS......anyhoo-the only way i see them doing it is if noone bought fossil fueled cars anymore.

Answer 21

Never. Oil companies have ties in the many governments that keep them from passing legislation that can hurt their business practices.  Oil Companies like being rich. Politicians like being rich. And they all want everyone else to be poor. Why do you think most of the middle east hates us? Because we brought war onto their lands? No, that's preposterous. Because they know America wants their oil by force instead of practicing good business.  Oil companies encourage America to go to war so their prices can go up. Everyone is happy in the end, except us honest, good living citizens.

Answer 22

it's switch to electric cars first