I can appreciate buying a hybrid if you need a new car, but buying one when your other car works fine seems like it would just populate the world with more cars. There is a lot of energy and material that goes into making hybrids, or any car, and I doubt it's offset by the gas mileage saved.

I guess it just depends on what kind of car, how old it is, what the gas mileage on the car is, etc. I agree with the comment above - if you need a new car, buy a hybrid. But don't buy a new car if you don't need one, just to get a hybrid.

The other thing you need to factor in is what happens to the car after you? If you resell and buy a hybrid then all you're doing is simply adding to the net level emissions of two cars (no matter how much less that might be with a hybrid). If the car is decommissioned and sent to the junkyard, I can't even imagine what that environmental impact would be. Option number 1 would be to magically turn your existing car into a hybrid.

Buy a used hybrid...

I think that anyone who has the financial ability to switch from a conventional car to a hybrid should do so. It demonstrates to the auto industry that Americans are prepared to accept a necessary shift away from gasoline power, and that every car company needs to invest in serious hybrid, ethanol, and hydrogen propulsion research if they want to guarantee their future in a changing industry.

Joycelyn C agree. When the car your driving is no longer road worthy and a new car becomes a necessity buy a hybrid. Until then drive what you have and don't contribute to the vast waste land we have already created. Think before you buy.

Nice to see people are generally sane here. I would use my current car until it's having problems, then upgrade to a hybrid, permitted finance allow it

I totally disagree with Eddie on this one. Since most Americans probably don't have the money right now to buy a new car, especially a hybrid model (which is generally a few thousand dollars more expensive than the equivalent gasoline-powered model), the impact of the people who can buy hybrid cars would be negligible. Also, since most of those people would be replacing their current working gasoline-powered car, the environmental impact of the manufacturing, shipping, and maintenance of a new car would outweigh any of the advantages of buying a hybrid.

I think that a major issue in our climate crisis is over consumption. If your car is fine, why waste the money and the resources to buy a new one. If you are concerned about your cars impact then learn how to drive more economically, get it regular checked by a mechanic, or get out of your car and onto a bike, into a bus, or use your feet!