Literature Review

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SOCIOLOGY 240

Hybrid or Standard?
Why the urge to “go green”
Tyler Douglas McPherson Brody Karkosh Calvin Chaffee 12/7/2010

A study into why there is a sudden urge to go green. What are the factors in purchasing a hybrid? Why purchase a hybrid car? What are the pros and cons of purchasing a hybrid? Do consumers really know the pros and cons of purchasing a hybrid? Would their decision change if they knew the pros and cons?

Hypothesis Our research for our study will be on finding the factors that influence a consumer’s decision in buying a hybrid car or a standard vehicle. We are trying to find a trend or connection. Why is there all of a sudden a huge rush to go green? Why is everybody starting to purchase hybrids? There has to be some sort of factor or influential point in swaying a consumer’s decision. We would like to find those factors that influence us and then we would like to see if a consumer is presented with this information on hybrid cars versus standard vehicles, will their decision still be the same. We will research all of the components to a hybrid car including price, fuel economy, fuel technology, and incentives and then we will present this information to them and observe their decisions. We have come up with a survey as our method to conduct our research.

Method Our group decided to use a survey as our methodological tool. We asked ten questions that were general and specific. We did this on purpose to connect trends. Another reason we will approach this in a quantitative way, is that we are looking for trends or any connections. By giving out our survey to massive amounts of people, we can see trends by looking just at the answers. We can generalize about the population by looking at our sample and connecting answers to form possible trends and/or generalizations. For example; if we see that females who participated in our survey chose similar answers such as they would buy an environmentally friendly vehicle and would solely buy one due to the movement to go green, we can generalize that women are more likely to purchase a green car because of this movement to go green. The following is our survery:
By completing this survey I agree to participate in this study. All information will be kept confidential Consumer Interest Survey 1. Gender: Male 2. Age: 18-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 70+ 3. Marital Status: Married 4. Income: Single Divorced Widowed Dating Female

Under $40k

$40K-$60K

$60-$80k

$80k-$100k

$100k-$120K

$120k+

5. Where do you live? Northeast Southeast Midwest Northwest Southwest West East North South

6. What brand of car do you currently own? Chevrolet Ford Other_________ Cadillac Honda Toyota Dodge BMW VW

7. What type of car do you currently own? SUV Sedan Coupe Truck Crossover

8. Do you currently own an environmental friendly vehicle? Yes No

9. Would you choose an environmental friendly or “green” vehicle over a regular vehicle considering the price difference (maintenance, benefits, MSRP, warranty, etc.)? Yes No

10. Would you buy an environmental friendly vehicle solely due to the movement to” go green”? Yes No

11. Do you believe you are satisfied with a green car if you own one or would you believe you would be satisfied with a green car if you had one? Yes No For the following questions, circle the corresponding feeling towards the statement 12. I am environmentally friendly whenever possible Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

13. How important are environmental issues to you personally? Extremely Important Important Neutral Not Important Not Important at all

14. How much have you changed your behaviour in the last 3 years to reduce your impact on the environment?

A Great Deal

A lot

A little Bit

Hardly At All

Not At All

15. How often do you recycle? A Great Deal A lot A little Bit Hardly At All Not At All

16. How important do you think it is for individual people to change their behaviour to reduce their impact on the environment? Extremely Important Important Neutral Not Important Not Important at all

17. Are you prepared to pay extra for items you buy if they are kind to the environment? Yes Uncertain No

18. Would you spend an extra $100 on a new appliance today if it would save $200 over the next three years? Yes Uncertain No

19. How important is it to you to reduce your energy bill? Extremely Important Important Neutral Not Important Not Important at all

20. Would you choose an item that offer better energy for the environment? Yes Uncertain No

21. When would you decide to purchase this item? If it was slightly more expensive Same price If it was cheaper

22. Would you be interested in participating in a pilot study to find new technologies to help improve the energy efficiency of your vehicle? Yes Uncertain No

Literature Review This journal discusses the problems that come with Carbon Dioxide emissions and how Hybrid electric vehicles are a promising solution to this issue. Hybrid electric vehicles are limited in today’s market but are projected to increase. The study presented in this journal regarded fuel economy and pollutant emissions. Samaras used a Prius II and a Honda Civic IMA. Experiments were run on both of these cars using the European legislated driving cycle and real-world simulation driving cycles. Emissions were not the only parameter in this study. Researchers pulled data from a real-world operation on a Prius II. Samaras found that both vehicles proved to be energy efficient compared to a normal standard vehicle. Pollutant emissions were reduced by an averaged 50% from the two vehicles. Samaras concluded HEV’s benefit urban operation and improvement in the quality of air. We can connect this study to ours in that if this information was presented to a potential customer, they might swing towards purchasing an HEV. It is stated in this study, that HEV’s actually do reduce pollutant emissions significantly. If the consumer was aware of this, this could be a leading factor in their decision. “Economic and environmental comparison of conventional, hybrid, electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles” published by Ibrahim Dincer shows data from an observation he performed. Dincer used data to perform economic and environmental comparisons between conventional, hybrid, electric and hydrogen vehicles. Dincer used a certain mathematical procedure to compare these vehicles. This procedure used economic and environmental indicators. Dincer found that hybrid and electric demonstrate advantages over conventional and hydrogen vehicles. Hybrid shows to be advantageous over electric if the electricity does not come from a renewable resource. If an electric vehicle can have on-board electricity generation, the vehicle is significantly more advanced ecologically. Once again, this study performed by Dincer strengthens the factor of “better for the environment” in our study. If we

were to give this study to a consumer before they decide on their purchase, I am sure this would influence their decision. “Electric vehicle purchasing intentions: The concern over battery charge duration” by Emmanual Cheron discusses research done to see what are the most influential factors in pushing a consumer away from purchasing an electric car. Factors such as maximum speed and recharging time were estimated. The results found showed that buyers find the possibility of a dead battery unacceptable. They also found that consumers find that limited speed is also a big turn off. Researchers took into consideration socioeconomic and demographic variables. They also state that the percentage of participants that prefer a specific electric car is compared to the probability of it being purchased. This study is extremely helpful to our study. Here we can see what these researchers did to find influential factors in pushing away consumers from buying an electric car. We can see what consumers do not like about electric cars through this study and therefore not continue to pursue that factor through our study. This article goes very in depth but just by reading the highlights of each different section we learn a lot about comparison’s between electronic car and fuel powered cars and the CO2 emissions that each would produce. The researchers in the article conducted a field experiment testing a wide variety of variables in Mobile Alabama and then researching a lot of emissions information gathered by the state. This article is very good for our research project because it gives us solid, tested results about which type of car would help you reduce CO2 emissions the most. "Combustion Characteristics of a Direct-Injection Engine Fueled with Natural Gas−Hydrogen Blends under Various Injection Timings." has a little bit of relevant information for our group. There is a small section in the article about how over time as the fuel injection timings have become more advanced and help cars perform and better levels the amount of nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide levels

rise. The concentrations of both emissions are higher with the advanced fuel injection timing. This article is helpful to our group because it gives us more reasoning why someone who understands cars and the environment would choose between a traditional car or a hybrid car. This article outlines the concept for a fuel cell vehicle, and explains that it is on the rise, not immanent yet, but is in the near future. Several key factors need to be worked out yet such as the fuel tank, and a list of government regulations and processes that would need to be set in place. This article is useful to us because it helps us understand why someone would wait to purchase a new care entirely, because they are hoping to buy this new concept car when it comes to the Market.

In the article “Achieving Despite the Challenges” James Porteous, discusses that green vehicles are not up to their full potential yet, but they are making their way to this point. “The latest in car and truck technology, and the fuels that will power them. There is no doubt that the impetus and incentive for more environmentally efficient vehicles have driven through the market, with all major manufacturers planning investments in new technologies. Mainstream sales of these vehicles are just around the corner, and that is a historical turning point worth noting.” (Porteous) If we are able to make it possible for everyone to drive some sort of clean vehicle we would be able to reduce pollution substantially, with the possibility of cleaning up some of the pollution in our bigger cities. By using Nano-technology we would be able to use this in diesel motor filters and as they clean it would help prevent in putting less soot in the air caused by a diesel exhaust. "Hybrid Cars -- Pros and Cons." discusses how if we developed and used this technology in all diesel vehicle’s we would be able to accomplish much less diesel pollution and keep the motors cleaner over a longer duration of time. These new filter’s would help us in not only cleaning up

our planet, but also using a much more efficient use of our diesel energy. Our research relates because if we use this it would achieve more of a greener outlook on future vehicles. China is talking about giving some sort of incentive in order to drive their citizens towards buying more green cars. By 2011 they hope to have 500,000 green cars on their streets which would account for 5% of all passenger vehicles. “The favorable policies are bound to spark customer interest in the green cars and prompt automakers to jump on the bandwagon, Said Jia Xinguang.” If they have all car manufactures steering more towards a green product this could help in creating a domino effect with other countries, eliminating the use of this dependence on less fuel efficient vehicles, also if all car companies are producing green vehicles when people go to buy a car they would not have any options but to get a cleaner green car. The “Money Drives Growing Hybrid Consideration” article published by HybridCars points out the leading factor for why consumers prefer to purchase hybrid cars over a nonhybrid car. They state that the leading factor is lower fuel costs and better fuel economy. Surprisingly, only 16 percent of consumers said that they would buy a hybrid car because they want to help the environment. Also, HyrbidCars states that consumers would rather buy hybrids now because their mileage figures are far more consistent with their stickered mileage figures. This ties in to our study because we want to know what incentives and why consumers buy hybrids. This article states that after their survey, they found that the individuals they gave the survey to, the favored response was gas mileage and fuel economy. This is a little bit of a surprise to us because hybrid cars were meant to go green and consumers

were negligent to the fact that the hybrid car was better for the environment. I suppose that saving money is more important to consumers than saving the environment. Glenn Becks statement on his show. On this episode, Beck was aiming at hybrid cars and almost ridiculing them. Beck states that the incentives for buying hybrid cars are not worth it. One of the biggest incentives for going to a hybrid car is a tax break. Beck says that the average income of a hybrid buyer is $113,000 which is double the mean average income and six times the poverty level. He questions who the incentives are really for and why they are necessary. Rush Limbaugh brings up a good point in the article as well. Limbaugh states that consumers are almost forced to buy hybrid because Obama forces manufactures to make the cars. This article plays devils advocate to our study. It offers a way of thinking against buying hybrid cars. Why should consumers buy a hybrid? Beck and Limbaugh say there is no incentive for buying hybrids. I believe they make a good point. One of the major incentives for going to a hybrid is tax breaks. If the average income of a hybrid owner is $113,000, then what are the tax breaks for? They certainly do not need them. Beck also states that two years ago, the top 10 selling cars were all non-hybrids. If the top 10 are all non-hybrid, why would a consumer go buy a hybrid then? There really is no reason to buy a hybrid car according to this article. HybridCars.com talks about hybrid owners get into more accidents and receive more tickets than a non-hybrid owner. They say hybrid owners are more likely to get a ticket because the owner is more likely to live in the city. Also, a reason stated to explain the

relationship between accidents and hybrids is because insurance companies offer insurance discounts and breaks for hybrid owners. HybridCars states that hybrid owners tend to drive more which can cause more accidents. This article does not completely pertain to my study entirely but it does state some facts about the typical hybrid owner. Our study is also looking for the average hybrid buyer and characteristics of a hybrid owner/buyer. The article says that most hybrid owners live in the city. Hybrids get a lot of mpg which would be appealing to an individual who lives in the city. Also, HybridCars states a hybrid buyer is more likely to be a woman and older. Hybrid SUV’s are becoming very popular and at a fast rate and are now becoming more readily available than they were a few years ago. Buying and using hybrids is going to be the way of the future, are oil supply is quickly being depleted and the environment is getting more and more polluted along with the rising gas prices it is a wise idea to get a hybrid even it is an SUV. The downfall pointed out in this article to buying a hybrid is that the price is going to be considerably more than a gas. People buy hybrid over gas SUV’s because they think that by paying the extra money they will earn it back with the better gas mileage that the hybrid is going to get. People also are trying to become more environmentally friendly by buying a hybrid, in Sweden there we people that actually deflated the tires on SUV’s as a representation that they were just gas guzzling road hogs. Hybrids are beginning to be at a much higher demand for at some dealers you could wait up to six months just to get your hybrid. This article completely shoots down the

idea of buying a hybrid SUV but instead to get one of the other hybrid models such as a sedan or just a regular coupe with a gas motor, because if gas mileage is what you’re going for these should more than satisfy. Even the top five hybrid SUV’s do not pay you back as quick as some people would hope one Chrysler takes up to 18 years before you get your money back for buying the hybrid. Consumers might be turned away after reading this article, I mean who would buy a hybrid knowing that it could take them up to 18 years to get their money back. So you should buy a gas guzzling SUV if you are just going to trade in the car after a short period to get the next model, otherwise your putting yourself out at least 10 thousand dollars with the hybrid. The makers of these hybrid cars think that this is the best thing since sliced bread. A hybrid car is basically a regular car just with an electric motor slapped onto to the back of it that can recharge itself using the breaking power and also charges while the gas motor is running. Hybrids are also better than either gas or electric, because with a gas motor you can always run out of fuel without a gas station to fill up at and a just electric car can eventually run out of electricity and in order to get more has to be plugged into an outlet. With a hybrid you have the benefits of both and one can always kick in when the other runs out of power. Benefit to buying a hybrid is that you will get a tax incentive from the government. Hybrids are on the verge of becoming the number one driven car, not only because they are more fuel efficient, but because of the benefits that come along with owning one. Such as tax incentives, an electric motor as well as a gas. Thinking about this, it is also

beneficial to society in general with less pollution and less gas use, we could make less of a demand for oil and lower the costs of gas with less of a demand for it, the benefits are endless when it comes to owning a hybrid, besides the price. We have found a testimonial of someone who lives in the northern part of California and their life style is one where they try to stay as “off the grid” as possible and the one spot in their life that isn’t off the grid is their car. Since they require a 4 wheel drive car to get around most places a hybrid car isn’t very practical for them since the technological advances haven’t branched out to 4 wheel drive vehicles yet. One day when they went into the city they had an opportunity to test drive a hybrid for the day, so they took full advantage of this opportunity. They were pleased with some aspects of the hybrid car such as the handling and the fuel efficiency while pointing out several flaws such as the low to ground and terrible rough terrain sustainability. The person towards the end of the article is very pleased with the hybrid but isn’t able to find a legitimate reason to purchase one due to their lifestyle, but begs Toyota to come up with a hybrid or electric car for mountain people. I think this article was a very personal and real life view at someone who practically weighs the choices between a normal car and a hybrid car based on their lifestyle and doesn’t let the flashy titles and “green” sway them. This person is all about “being off the grid” but due to his geographic location in the mountains doesn’t find it practical or beneficial to own a hybrid. This article is helpful to our group because this is out of the ordinary first-hand experience, that is well documented and narrated for our, something that would otherwise be hard to replicate.

There are a lot of the myths that surround the new technology we as society today call hybrids. It gets into detail and explains how the double engine or battery and gas engines work to complement each other while still pointing out its flaws. It then picks two of the nations front running Hybrids the Ford Fusion Hybrid car and the Toyota Prius and it explains the benefits and downsides to each of these cars. This article also begins to explain which car a city driver or a rural driver would want as well, explaining the hybrid is very beneficial for the city driver while the rural driver doesn’t see the benefits as well. It clears up the very broad “grand tax break” topic stating that only the first 60,000 buyers of each specific model receive the tax breaks. In the conclusion paragraph the author states that hybrids are only a transition technology which is beneficial to our going green solution, but that it’s only the beginning and to really weigh your options before purchasing the car you want. This article is also very helpful to our research, it is similar to the article just covered, except this article is able to get down to the gritty facts and really give it to a potential customer straight forward. It is nice to get the actual facts about the actual benefits and the myths that turn out to be not as factual as many hopeful car buys would like. From here we can hopefully find information about rural drivers needs compared to city drivers. The article hybrid cars v.s. regular car is about several general cost/benefit analysis’s when someone thinks about purchasing a new car. There are 4 categories the article covers which are; fuel efficiency which claims that an average driver can save 1300$ a year when driving a hybrid car. It also goes a little into detail about the service and maintenance costs stating that the hybrid’s two motor system is very beneficial for city drivers because they brake

constantly and are idle quite often, but that the costs of maintaining are about the same . Also the purchase price which shows that hybrid cars are between 3,000$ and 8,000$ more expensive, but the 4th category: tax breaks for purchasing a hybrid range from 2,000$ to 8,000$. At the end of the article comes to a conclusion the benefits outweigh the costs when wanting to buy a hybrid car or regular car. This article is very helpful towards our study because it gives us a very broad starting point for what a consumer would consider when buying a car. Its 4 broad topics of fuel efficiency, service and maintenance costs, purchase price, and tax breaks are very basic but good building blocks for our to look into more detail.

Conclusion After all of our research and observations, we decided to approach our results in a quantitative approach. We took this approach for a couple reasons. First, we are giving our survey to a massive amount of people and our survey does not contain much in depth questions. For this reason, it would be very difficult to approach our results in a qualitative manor or extract qualitative information out of it. We believe we can get our results faster and facilitate this process by going in the direction of a quantitative approach. We will use bar graphs to present our results and accompany those graphs with a brief analysis on any trends or connections we found while analyzing our results. Any qualitative approach would simply take too long to analyze our results and would really prove ineffective in our study and would not strengthen nor weaken our hypothesis. We also will make sure that all participants will remain anonymous and all answers are confidential. Through our literature review, we have actually found quite a lot. Cheron’s journal states reasons why consumers would not purchase a HEV because of dead batteries and top speed. At the same time though, Dincer states the hybrid vehicles prove to be significantly advantageous over standard vehicles. One of our articles states that in some dealerships, you would have to wait up to six months to get you hybrid. Hybridcars.com lists the incentives in purchasing a hybrid such as tax breaks. We have a personal account of a hybrid owner in our review which gives our study a real life aspect instead of just stats. We have found the technical aspects of hybrid cars and is mentioned in the combustion article by Huang. Overall, we believe that our literature review presented us the technicalities of hybrids along with the pros and cons of hybrids. It seems like most people would purchase a hybrid because they are truly better for the environment and they want to

help the environment, not just get the incentives. If a consumer was presented our literature review, we are almost positive they will buy a hybrid despite the cons. There are far more pros than cons when it comes to purchasing a hybrid vehicle over a standard vehicle and that is why there is an overwhelming urge to purchase hybrids.

Bibliography

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