Q. Much is written about the reason for the gas-price hike — not enough refineries, repairs, exploration costs, etc. But nothing is said about the effect hybrid cars have had. If a station owner has 100 customers who used to fill up once a week and 20 of them purchased hybrids, leaving 80 filling up once a week and the hybrids once a month, he certainly would feel it in the pocketbook. Is there any survey on how many hybrids have been and will be purchased?
I.B., Chicago
A. Hybrids account for a little more than 100,000 sales this year, or 2 percent of industry sales. So if a station owner has 100 customers, it’s more likely two of them, not 20, will pull in less frequently for a fill. And the hybrid owner probably is not getting four times the mileage of those with gas-powered machines, so hybrid owners probably would pull in for a fill every two weeks versus every week for gas vehicles or once a week versus twice a week for gas vehicles. That makes it unlikely the station owner is going to go belly up.
Q. Everyone seems to have a different reason for gas prices being higher than my mortgage payment. Haven’t heard yours.
F.G., Waukegan
A. It’s the best-thing-about-hitting-yourself-over-t he-head-with-a-hammer-is-that-it-feels-so-good-when-you-stop theory. If you want motorists paying $2.50 a gallon to be happy paying $3, raise the price to $3.50. When the price comes back down to $3, people feel good rather than protesting they’ve been conned.
Q. Several years ago my husband and I bought an Audi TT quattro convertible because it was the only company that made a small, all-wheel-drive convertible we could drive year-round. Are any Japanese automakers planning to make a small AWD convertible in the near future?
J.W., Libertyville
A. We couldn’t think of any with an AWD convertible in the works, so we called Art Spinella, of CNW Marketing Research, who said Mazda has no plans to convert its Miata convertible to AWD and he knows of no others, either. He said the only other automaker thinking about an AWD convertible is Kia.
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Write to Jim Mateja, Chicago Tribune, 616 Atrium Drive, Vernon Hills, IL 60061-1523, or send e-mail, including name and hometown, to jmateja@tribune.com.
