Light Truck and SUV Blogs

This year’s Detroit Auto Show has gone electric and while most of the focus is on cars, trucks can only be right around the corner. Rumors abound about a new Toyota Tundra hybrid in the making.

When it comes to cars, the Toyota Prius is boasting a mighty 50 mpg and actually gets better fuel economy in the city than on the highway. Honda released its Insight hybrid and went the other direction with better highway fuel economy. Ford is offering its new Fusion as the new hybrid muscle on the street with a 2.5 liter engine.

The question I have is, “how long will this hybrid train run?” Pure electric automobiles appear to be the finish line for where technology is heading. The only things holding them on the back burner are a nationwide infrastructure for supporting the vehicles and the fact that electric vehicles are still a little too pricy for most consumers.

In the eternal struggle to outdo each other, which is really what the Detroit Auto Show is all about, manufacturers will surely make the leap to affordable electric autos in coming years. Will it be five or 10 years? Who can say?

The one thing that is certain is mechanics across the country will need additional training to handle the new technology. Most shops are comfortable with all aspects of general auto repair but how many are prepared for when one of these hybrids is towed onto the lot? Will the auto shops and aftermarket part stores be cut out of this developing segment because of lack of preparation?

I think history has shown that consumers want options outside of taking their vehicle to a dealership. The question is, “what are you doing to prepare yourself?” Or is this so far down the road that we need not worry about it? It may be that small to mid-sized shops just like yours will become the “the new gas station” for electric vehicles if initiative is taken to build the infrastructure. That is how the auto industry started. It used to be that consumer’s only option was getting their vehicle repaired at the station that filled their tank. Will history repeat itself?