What are reasons that people don't use more efficient vehicles?

Question

This is for a science paper and I'm just wondering why people don't use more efficient vehicles? Anybody have an opinion? Anybody wanna tell me why you yourself don't use them? It's cheaper and better for the environment; why don't people use them? And if you can, I'd really really appreciate a link to a good website about efficiency of transportation or something like that. Thanks!

Answer 1

well to be honest, i really dont care about the environment. You only live once so i wanna enjoy my life, drive the cars i want, and do what makes me happy without caring about the future of the planet.

I like my muscle cars, i like the noise, torque and aggressive power a muscle car provides.

The day they make an electric car that sounds like it has the balls of a muscle car, then we will talk

Answer 2

The simple answer is that many like the freedom of choice more than they believe in conservation.

I always wondered why the people who worry about "global warming" the most tend to drive around in limos that get maybe 2 miles to the gallon.  Then they get into private jets that burn up more fuel in one flight than all the people in a small town use in a year.

So even the believers don't care about conserving energy.  I'm not complaining about them since I prefer people being allowed to make their own decisions and not being told by the government what they can and cannot drive.

Answer 3

I live in a rural area of Ohio. I have a Honda Accord and I have a 2500 4x4 Suburban. I pull a 29 foot RV on vacation and a horse trailer for my kids in the summer. In the winter there are places my Accord just won't go... one of them being out my driveway. When I have to go to work I have to get there no matter how. I drive the car as much as possible, but when I need it, I have the truck.

Answer 4

the prime reason is that most people just don't care. they don't care if the earth is doomed to burn in flames as long as they don't have to worry. Efficient vehicles aren't as powerful or  "pretty" in most peoples eyes. they'd rather have a ginormous v-12 truck

People say "oh electric cars are so expensive" but how many people spend upwards of 60, 70 or even 100 thousand dollar on custom hummers and souped up corvettes.

If someone spends 20K on some platinum spinning rims, then cost is NOT a concern for them. you can get a good EV for like 15-30 K (and not those idiotic looking Zap clown cars with the polka dot paint job)

Answer 5

Well personally I do.  I bought a Prius a year ago and either bike or ride an electric scooter to work.

Some people don't buy hybrids because they can't afford them.  That doesn't really answer your question though, because almost anyone can afford an electric scooter.  I bought mine for $1200, which is cheaper than basically any used car, and has essentially zero maintenance costs (and miniscule fuel costs - less than one-tenth what it costs to fuel a car).  Of course, this only works if you have a reasonably short commute to work (mine is 13 miles), and a safe route to take (i.e. bike lanes and/or residential streets).  The same argument applies to bicycling.

So some of the problem is that the USA's transportation infrastructure has been built around the automobile.  There are many places where bikes and scooters are impractical, and our public transportation infrastructure in general is also rather pathetic.

So if you combine the rather high initial cost of hybrids with the poor infrastructure, that explains why some people don't use more efficient vehicles.  I've also heard a ton of myths about hybrids, like that the Prius does more environmental damage than a Hummer, the batteries pollute, the batteries only last 3 years and cost $10,000 to replace, etc. etc.  These are all absurd myths which can be disproven with 5 minutes of research, but some people are too lazy to make the effort.

And some people simply don't care.  They can afford to fuel up their gas guzzling SUV and simply don't give a darn about the environment.

So ultimately it's a combination of cost, lack of infrastructure, ignorance, and selfishness which contribute to so few efficient vehicles being on the road.

In response to your request, linked below is a summary of studies comparing the overall CO2 emissions of gas cars, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and fully electric vehicles.  Also a study debunking the myth that Hummers do less environmental damage than the Prius, which contains lots of interesting/useful information.

Answer 6

when that's all you can buy, I'll be on board.  until then I'm driving my insanely over sized truck that burns insane amounts of fuel!  why?  kuz i can!

Answer 7

Do you mean environment friendly or just fuel efficient vehicles? Hybrid cars are still pretty expensive. Unless a person is really bent upon helping environment, he would not want to pay couple of thousand dollars more to buy a hybrid car.

Answer 8

It can be expensive to buy a new car.  We have a Ford Freestyle.  We have decided that in a few years we will get a more fuel-efficient car.  I think that a lot of people just don't care, though.

Answer 9

I wonder what vehicle efficiency preferences has to do with science.  There are many potential reasons, none scientific or verifiable, for people's choices and general behavior.  I'm sure reasons range from not caring to not having the money to upgrade, but good luck getting an honest answer out of anyone.  This is why explaining human behavior is simply unscientific; people lie, and there is no way to test poll results and verify their truthfulness.  Your guess is as good as anyone else's. Just support it properly.

Answer 10

Some people have money and are large and need big vehicles.

Better than seeing a fat person in a Geo Metro.

Answer 11

Because the do not provide the desired level of performance, convenience, and/or utility.  This is simply a economic decision that each person makes based on their individual assessment criteria.  In a free society, people buy and use what works best for them, and they are generally quite good at making these choices.  Attempts to manipulate the market via government mandates or taxation always create more problems than they solve and should be avoided at all times.