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It seems unlikely: Canadians prefer smaller cars and those with high fuel efficiency, but they’re shunning hybrids. Monvolant, via autoblog, reports that Honda will be dropping the Insight and Civic hybrid models, due to poor sales. Only 748 Insights have found Canuck buyers, and even fewer Civic Hybrids. Honda had planned to sell 10k Insights in Canada this year. Pop!
The Insight has been a major sales disappointment stateside too. But here’s the real shocker: Only 2,272 Toyota Prius have been sold in Canada through July of this year. Are the Canadians hybriphobic? Or just genuinely frugal? (The two top selling cars in Canada are the Civic and the Corolla)
Maybe they’re suspicious of battery longevity in cold climates (no, this isn’t another one of those “LOL Canucks all live in igloos” comments).
I’d love to see the numbers of American buyers along the Canadian border as a comparison (maybe excluding New England, since the hardline hippie influence is pretty strong in VT/NH).
OTOH, Europe has also adopted hybrids at a much lower rate than the US, last time I checked. However, their easy excuse could be the wide availability of very high efficiency gassers that most of us don’t see on this side of the pond.
The current economic crisis notwithstanding, historically Canadians’ disposable income has been lower than in the U.S.
Despite the higher fuel prices, the price premium for hybrids mustn’t be worth it in the estimation of many here.
Anyways, Paul, you already answered your own question when you pointed out that the Civic and Corolla are top o’ the charts in the passenger car segment.
I guess they just don’t want to drive a corporation’s science project anymore than I want to!
What does that even mean?
I think it means that Zackman would rather rely on tried and true engineering rather than some frilly battery pack.
Funny even if Buster Bluth doesnt get it
true engineering rather than some frilly battery pack.
The Prius has been proving itself for 13 years. How much more proof do you need?
Yeah, and what’s with this wussy ‘fuel injection’ then. I want a manually-operated choke, too, not some wussy throttle too. Oh, and these electric lights are too complicated; wax candles are the way to go. And forget this starter nonsense, let’s go back to cranking the engine by hand.
While we’re at it, let’s just do away with the whole “engine” thing. Horses and oxen are “real” power, not some frou-frou experiment in thermodynamics.
The hybrid Civic just feels like a heavy, slow Civic. And you can’t fold the back seat down to access the trunk or haul long items because of all the batteries stashed there, presumably. The choice between it and the Prius is obvious. But what’s up w/the Canuckistanis not buying any hybrids? Do they hate the planet that much, or just not see the hybrid mileage premium as worth it? Maybe it’s the fact that in relatively-underpopulated Canada you won’t reap the mileage benefits doing long drives on uncrowded roads.
Canadians are smart – cold weather makes hybrids run the engine full time longer – so any short trips it will hardly run in electric mode only. Factor in the $4-$5k premium of choosing one over a conventional / efficient 4 cylinder sedan in which you have substantially more choices to choose from and it’s a no brainer.
It’s not just cold weather in Canada. In Vancouver we hardly have what qualifies as “cold weather” and I see hybrids all over the place… mostly taxis.
I’d wager if they broke it down by region they’d find the greatest number of adopters in Vancouver.
That said, let’s get real. The price difference between a hybrid and a non hybrid equivalent is just not worth it (unless you are a taxi). We see a lot more Yaris, Civics, Corollas, and dielel golf/jettas. I have heard that the wait list for the Jetta Diesel Wagon is several months. That far more practical and equally efficient car is a far better value than a Prius.
The other point to look at is driving distances. In Greater Vancouver few have to drive the distances over the life of their car to make a hybrid worth it. Most drive 10,000 miles/year or less. When you have a family you’ll need more space (minivan or SUV) and a small car/hybrid is only good as a second car or commuter vehicle (hybrid SUVs just suck all around). Who wants to spend all that money on a second commuter car? I’d wager most simply can’t/don’t want to afford it.
Maybe the Canadians are just a more honest bunch. Why do Americans buy hybrids? Well, because it looks good, of course. Who wants a regular old Civic or Corolla? What’s special about those cars?
In case you didn’t catch it, I’m being sarcastic. I’ve driven hybrids…they suck. And they were the Toyota variety, so I tried the “best.”
Given your avatar… hmm.
Anyway, I drove a new Prius over the weekend while my father was test driving Tacomas. It doesn’t handle like the MKV GTI I just sold or my wife’s LSD equipped 6MT MINI, but it drove fine compared to your run of the mill sedan. I wouldn’t have a problem driving to and from work in one. It wouldn’t satisfy my need for a fun car, so it would require a weekend toy to suppliment, though. (used MX-5, S2000, etc.)
At least people don’t look at my “run of the mill sedan” and think, “Oh, there goes another tree-hugger.” I particularly didn’t like the brakes in the hybrid. Not that my Cobalt is any superstar in that department either, but at least when I apply my brakes there isn’t that on/off feel.
What did you get to replace the GTI? I’m not being a smartass, haha, but if you had a GTI and your wife has a Mini, then you must be at least a little enthusiastic about cars.
“At least people don’t look at my “run of the mill sedan” and think, “Oh, there goes another tree-hugger.” I particularly didn’t like the brakes in the hybrid. Not that my Cobalt is any superstar in that department either, but at least when I apply my brakes there isn’t that on/off feel.”
If I bought a Prius, it would be because I want to shield myself from fluctuating fuel prices and I want a car that fits a lot of stuff into a fall footprint while being pretty technologically advanced. I’m an engineer. The hybrid drivetrain is just naturally interesting in how they use an electric motor to replace all the hydraulic pistons and clutch packs in an automatic. It is just neat in a different way.
“What did you get to replace the GTI? I’m not being a smartass, haha, but if you had a GTI and your wife has a Mini, then you must be at least a little enthusiastic about cars.”
We bought a 4Runner in the spring as our “do everything” vehicle. I take it camping, biking, and hiking plus do some offroading with it. The idea was to buy an S2000 or a Miata to replace the GTI but I might just sit on the cash until the Toyota FT-86 comes out next year. I loved the 2 Subarus I had in the past and the RWD, high strung 4 cyl has always intrigued me. The FT should check off all the important boxes for a fun and efficient vehicle.
Being a seal blubber eating moose rider myself, I feel qualified to give my opinion on this.
I like cars, usually sporty ones. I also like for my car expenses not to take more than their fair share of my expendable budget, so you could call me frugal. I currently drive a Focus SVT – relatively efficient and fun to drive.
Hybrids are very interesting to me. Mainly the Prius, because it seems to have the hybrid thing nailed. It’s incredibly efficient, and it looks more upscale than cheaper economy cars, as it should. The Insight comes across as one of those cheaper economy cars with a hybrid drivetrain tacked on and the price increased. I guess if I wanted a Fusion or Civic, I would consider the hybrid version, but those cars are too Mom and Pop for me.
The Prius loses me as potential driver because it is renowned as being a driving appliance, but this doesn’t eliminate me as a buyer – my wife drives too, and couldn’t care less about driving dynamics, and I’m the car buyer in the family.
Here’s my biggest reservation – our climate. How much is hybrid efficiency compromised by -30 weather? How is battery capacity and longevity affected by our cold weather?
I am greatly impressed with the technological success of hybrids (the Prius) and am sitting on my wallet and waiting for the results of the hybrid vs. winter environment contest to play out. Meanwhile, I see small turbo motors coming out in the future that are more likely to personally interest me as an efficient sporty car buyer.
Mazdas are pretty strong sellers up there too. When I visit, it seems proportionally much higher than in the US. Never understood why the US wouldn’t follow that trend – my current mx-5 and previous protege5 are strong cars even if a little rough around the edges. Different strokes for different folks.
Mazdas are big here, it’s true. You’ll see a lot of Mazda3’s running around Quebec, for example. Some will already be rusting; all Protege’s are. But I digress.
I wonder what the heating performance is like on a hybrid. I suspect that shutting down the ICE means you lose your source of heat. Not ideal when it’s -20 or colder outside. Plus there’s that battery cold weather performance thing.
Or maybe it’s that we pay roughly 20% more for our cars and therefore simply don’t feel that the hybrid premium is worth paying over a regular economobile.
Maybe those crafty Canadians have figured out that a diesel Golf is more fun to drive, also delivers great fuel economy and has no batteries to worry about?
Having just sold a 3.5 year old, 58k mile Golf GTI, you may not worry about batteries, but nearly everything attached to the battery is a concern. It is a brilliant car to drive… but worry free it is not.
I looked at the Escape hybrid several years ago, but ended up with the Limited with a v6 because it had more equipment AND it was cheaper both up-front cost AND better financing rate.
There was no way that fuel savings are going to make up for the thousands extra spent on hybrid technology.
I guess we Canucks put less of a premium on appearing ‘green’ to our friends.
In California or Florida a car lasts until its motor gives out. In Canada it lasts until the frame rusts. Not enough time to pay off the hybrid premium.
Could it also have to do with tax breaks and bennies? Do they get the carpool lane or anything?
Is pricing an issue? Just from reading comments on TTAC over the years, it seems like many specialty cars are 30+% more expensive in Canada compared to the US.
That’s exactly it I think. The cheapest Prius in Canada is $29730 (MSRP plus dealer fees and block heater) before taxes.
How many would be sold in the States if they started at thirty grand?
Try buying an Impreza in Canada. Ridiculous. There are considerable savings by buying your Impreza in the US and getting all the paperwork done to legalize it in Canada.
Corolla starts at $15,400 in Canada. $15,450 in the USA.
Prius starts at $27,800 in Canada. $22,800 in the USA.
Yeah, that is pretty substantial.
$30k for a base Prius? Mystery solved. I also suppose Canada isn’t getting Prius leases for $199 a month, with nothing down. (IIRC)
That’s what you Canadians get for not sharing your Aero and Coffee Crisp with us fat Americans.
Sajeev:
Canada – $29,775.00(base) up to $40,494.00(every option box checked)
U.S. – $23,560.00(base) up to $34,010.00(every option box checked)
We Canadians pay a huge premium over American prices, and usually an even larger gouging when pricing a “specialty” vehicle like the Prius, or a desirable vehicle (like the Element when first introduced).
Yeah, are pricing is total BS. It needs to relate directly to the US exchange rate to be fair. Sajeev, sometime you should amuse yourself by going through our Canadian car websites. Most reasonably semi lux cars are up and around $60k before they go anywhere. Loaded Mazda 3s hit $30k without taxes (I just, for funsies, loaded a Mazda 3 hatch with everything and a few options and it came to $38k). In other words, even are cheap cars are expensive.
The first company that promises “American pricing” will get a lot of attention.
Now throw 13% or higher HST (sales tax) on top of those higher prices and we’ll solve the mystery.
@EChid, look at the Corolla pricing earlier in the comments — that Canadian price looks pretty good.
At the other end of the spectrum, the Audi S4 starts at C$52,500 — factor in the 6% import duty and the 5% exchange rate difference, and it’s near-identical to the US$46,600 price south of the border.
Of course few cars have identical standard equipment in US and Canada, but there are many cars on the market today where the real price differences are minimal.
@EChid it’s more depressing. I have relatives in Edmonton and Toronto, and (when the exchange rate was favorable) we’ve talked about buying a nice used BMW or something from the US and sending it up there. Never panned out, even after my cousin got a promotion with Husky Oil.
Sajeev is right on the money.
Pricing is exactly the issue: it’s the same reason the Civic and Corolla occupy the spots the Camry and Accord do, why we buy Caravans instead of F-150s, and why psarhjinian bought a Protege5 instead of a 350Z.
The Prius and Insight are expensive versus, say, the Corolla, Matrix or Fit/Civic, which is what they need to beat in Canada. In the US, there’s sound financial reasons to buy a Prius over a Camry, but there’s less value and more MSRP versus the Corolla or Matrix. I’d expect the rumoured upcoming hybrid Fit and Yaris-sized entry (with correspondingly lower prices) to do better
One interesting point is that the Camry Hybrid sells much better here than in the US. I suspect that’s the luxury factor in play.
Do Canadian drivers have much stop and go traffic where a Prius has the advantage of moving forward in electric-only mode? May not have traffic patterns where a two-mode hybrid offers a significant advantage. Canadians may also have many other outlets besides hybrid ownership to project a green image.
The vast majority of us live in cities, so we have plenty of stop and go. Its the cold and the pricing that really gets in the way with these things.
Sajeev and Darth Levy have nailed it. Price and climatic conditions.
The concept does not equate for a Canukstani to own a hybrid.
For the price of a Prius I can drive a damn nice Camry or Accord.
1. Maybe Canadians just don’t want to buy a car with a 12-year payback over a conventional version.
2. Maybe Canadians aren’t as afflicted with ‘green disease’ as Americans are.
3. Frugality: Canadian disposable income is less than in the US. Hybrids are not a poor-man’s car [ironically]. So while cultural frugality may be part of it, actual income may have more to do with it. For an extreme example, one could ask why more hybrids aren’t sold in Mexico, where cold weather isn’t an issue.
1. Good point. Although rust issues have improved, cars still aren’t perfect and our winters (much like some northern states)really put a beating on a car. I think the majority of people would rather have something that is cheap to begin with, cheap and simple to run and won’t owe much after 10 years. I know most people expect around 10 to 12 years out of cars here.
2. Not so much. Cheap and cheerful. It doesn’t help that huge stretches of highways between smaller populations means hybrids don’t really make as much sense.
3. Very true. We have a substantial social net, but a lot less to spend out of pocket. My mother’s perfect car is a little Volvo C30, but her realstic next buy is a Ford Focus. My dad thinks his 03 Accord 4 cyl is too large.
Certainly the economics of the vehicles are a factor, plus, most of us would rather not maintain 2 separate vehicles. Don’t forget that Canada is substantially larger (physically) than the U.S. and has about 10% of the American population. That means we travel longer distances on a regular basis. The nearest large city is 3 hours driving time for me, nearest national park is 4 hours driving time, a decent lake, 2 hours driving. (@ around 70 mph), so electric’s are pretty much useless to us unless you never leave your home town with it. Even with my job, (account rep), I regularly put at least 40-80 kms. a day on my vehicle, so a hybrid or full electric with a 50 k range is a completely useless vehicle to us(me). I think we’ll embrace the technology when the range increases, but right now, they are pretty useless here. As far as rust goes, that is mainly a problem in the east where the roads are heavily salted. We don’t use salt in the west, so rust isn’t much of an issue here.
Simple: the price difference between a conventional small car and a hybrid buys a lot of gas. Even at BC prices ($1.15/litre at the moment).
Canadians also generally don’t (and don’t care to) broadcast our political leanings. So perhaps hybrid curb appeal is lessened even further here because they’re not a rolling middle-finger-on-wheels to cheap-gas-is-a-right type republicans or whatever.
Somewhat related example: in Seattle this past weekend we saw far, far more of the new Japanese-Sebring-faced Legacy than we do up here in import-car-loving Vancouver. Each one had the “PZEV” tag on the butt, which I bet was absolutely a factor in its purchase. Green political karma credits or something.
FYI:
As I type this, I look out my window and see the patio of the largest taxi company serving the Vancouver area:
1) Prius taxis in Vancouver are bought USED in the United States. More precisely, they are bought via a specialized wholesaler located in the Greater Los Angeles area. The few cars that aren’t shipped from California are either ICBC (Insurance Corporation of British Columbia) rebuilt-status titles (salvaged) or, in very rare occasions TCH off-lease units that are sold months in advance to one of the three Taxi companies that actively promote Hybrid taxis.
1.5) These companies have customers that will ONLY call on a Hybrid Taxi. This includes a few choice hotels catering to Hollywood actors & movie studio, US tourists doing the outdoor/adventure sports recreation outfitters route and so on. Cruise ship outfitters don’t do it much because cruise passengers usually a)carry too much luggage and require a minivan or b) transfer in Tour Buses
1.8) Taxi companies in Vancouver do the Hybrid thing because there is a demand for it. Not so much because it saves break pads or because it CAN’T carry 4 large American passengers + their luggage to YVR.
2) There is no longer tax-credit available (around $2K)for Hybrid buyers in B.C. and ON due to the passing of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) earlier in Canada Day.
3) Toyota is discounting $4K before you even sit down to talk about a free set of carpets for your Prius in the Greater Vancouver area. Same for the TCH.
4) Now sssembled-in-USA, NAFTA-friendly TCH outsells assembled -in-Japan Prius 3-1 in the Vancouver as they come out the door within hundreds of dollars of ea. other’s prices after it’s all said and done.
I’ve owned two Prius cars bought new and live in a climate similar to much of Ontario, Canada. After E10 (10% ethanol) become “unavoidable” in my area, my winter MPG’s went from 44 to 33. Summer mileage went from 48 down to about 46, spring/autumn MPGs went from 50 to about 48.
Yes, I lost 25% of my fuel efficiency in the winter, due to 10% ethanol. The last Prius I had was a 2008. I understand (from the grapevine, not experience) that the newest generation Prius “only” loses 10-15% MPG’s on E10 compared to 100% gasoline, but since it is virtually impossible to buy 100% gasoline in much of the country, the point is somewhat irrelevant.
I think that Honda are smart to pull the hybrids out of Canada, given their abysmal sales numbers.
On a side note to someone’s earlier comment, about pricing in Canada vs the states? Hyundai shocked the daylights out of the UK auto market by putting on a 7 year warranty, and if they want to start taking market share from Chrysler (historically larger in Canada than the states) and Toyota, GM and Ford, then they would be very smart to put “US pricing on all cars” and advertise the hell out of it.
Oh, and Hyundai execs? If you’re reading this, I can tell you that the still-in-production Trajet “MPV” would be a good seller in Canada. Look at how many minivans Chrysler sells there. Having a very slightly smaller vehicle priced at about 1/2 of the Chrysler, with a 7 year warranty…. well you get the picture, I assume.
Hey, Nestle finally caved and Coffee Crisp is available in the US, though not everywhere.
I think the bottom line is Canadians are cheap. Whether they want to be or just are, it is so. I have dual citizenship so I can comment. Example – Canadians generally never call the US – long distance too expensive. Even when they can with Vonage and it’s free they don’t call. I have to call them, and then they talk for hours. Ditto with Christmas cards. I know it costs a “single” not a loonie, eh? to send a card south of the border, but come on, it’s once a year. I pay 75 cents to send them north. Of course it takes 4 weeks to get there and it is 40 miles by car.
Canadians also hold onto cars for many years past Americans – I think they are worried about long term care. I doubt they will be taking their hybrids to Canadian Tire for service in 2025. But you can bet they will bring their Corollas and Civics there.
Hey, Nestle finally caved and Coffee Crisp is available in the US, though not everywhere.
Yea – Canadian candy bars rule over US counterparts (thanks to our 100% higher sugar prices – brought to you by ultra-polluting Florida sugar growers and their Hawaiian pals).
Coffee Crisp is tough to find, even in trendoid border city shops…
I think the bottom line is Canadians are cheap.
I think Canadians just love to internally combust (fossile fuels)! Heck, they even drill under the Great Lakes (we won’t). Canadians squeeze oil from shale or caribou or baby seals or something in the wilds of Alberta. Plus, they’ve got the worlds largest uranium mine and gobs of nuke plants. And a better freakin’ national anthem… sigh.
As a Canadian living in the U.S., I agree with the previous points. The “green-ness” of hybrids in the U.S. is a huge selling point for a lot of people that buy them. I grew up in Southern Ontario, which has a pretty mild climate compared to other parts of Canada, but even there I can’t see people buying them just because of the long payback on them with the high purchase price and taxes factored in.
As for another thing regarding VW TDIs – VW sells every TDI they can get in Canada because of their efficiency, and also because diesel has historically been cheaper than gas in Canada. At the Flying J in London, Ontario gas is currently selling for 99.6 cents per litre, while Diesel is at 93.9 cents. 6 cents per litre adds up for commuters, and there’s no battery pack to worry about on a TDI. Canadians generally like to not have to worry about unnecessary things breaking on their cars. Battery packs are one thing that’s not necessary.
Again, as a recent VW owner (until last week, in fact), nothing about VW ownership is “worry free”. “Worry” was in the top 3 of the reasons of why I got rid of what was a great driving car. I know at least 4 people that have a Prius significantly older than my GTI was and 3 have never seen the service bay. My GTI has been there no less than 5 times in 3 years for defects. Recalls for defective parts were another 5 visits.
http://www.truedelta.com/models/Prius.php?session_code=#section_reliability
http://www.truedelta.com/models/Jetta.php?session_code=#section_reliability
The TDIs have 4x the visits/100 vehicles/year.
Joke.told to me by a bartender in Las Vegas.
Whats the dfference between a Canadian,and a canoe?
Answer..A canoe will tip.
Yes..We are cheap. In my family income bracket{lower middle class},between, income tax,HST,property tax,gas tax,and all the fees,for drivers licence,and “E” tests,plates etc. Not to mention hidden taxes in the form of tolls. It would be safe to say 50% right off the top.
Some body has to pay for the “free” health care eh?
BTW.. In the USA I’m so thrilled to get a beer for $2.50 I don’t mind shooting the server a buck.
Even here in SW Ontario, I have seen lots of Toyota Prius vehicles,and If I want to drink beer I go to the Legion where I have been a member since many years and Beer (Bottle) only costs $2.25, but Bars are expensive so I see where Mikey is coming from, if I had a VW diesel vehicle, I would have to go back to the VW dealer for every thing, I don’t know of many places that can service Diesel unless you have Farm Dealer who sells Tractor that are Diesel that is and yes we are frugal in so many ways!
In my city, Vancouver, there are very few hybrids. It seems that those who care about being green and/or saving money take transit. Vancouver and the majority of Canadian cities have excellent transit systems, so they’re a viable alternative to car ownership. Also, “green” Canadians know that transit is truly more sustainable than hybrid ownership. Hybrids arent good for the environment. Battery disposal notwithstanding, they still use gasoline.
Myself, I own a lovely old Benz. It’s not very gas efficient but thanks to a good transit system (aside from the fact my train stops running at 1… leaving me hooped on a night out, but I digress), I can take the train to work. And since I’m a student, I get a very cheap subsidized (yay socialism) transit pass. The train is WAY cheaper than gas and it’s in fact faster than driving.
Interesting note: in Vancouver there a very few Prius owners EXCEPT for taxis. It seems like almost half of all taxis here are Priuses.
Up here, we listen mainly to Jeremy Clarkson. Therefore we know that hybrids are rubbish, and hydrogen power is the only alternate answer worth pursuing. Which isn’t a possible source of power, yet.
So instead, and with nothing to do, we turn every conversation (and trip) into something to do with beer, sometimes without any apparent reason. Makes sense, eh?
High costs and possible cold weather issues seem to answer the question pretty well –
But I want to comment on how confused I am by the endless posts on this and other auto sites complaining and obsessing on the idea that people buy the Prius for the “green” image. While that may have been true for some celebrities or early adapters, it doesn’t seem very true today. I can think of 6 Prius owners that I know, and to a person they are tech freaks not green freaks. They work in high tech industries, love gadgets, deal with city traffic, and have very little interest in cars. To them a Prius is very reliable while being interesting and entertaining, like a smart phone you can drive. Before it existed they commuted in Camerys or Accords.
In fact, not one actual hardcore greenie I know even owns a hybrid. If they have the money, they drive bio-diesel VWs or MBs, otherwise they drive whatever old high mileage car they have when needed, and try to avoid driving if they can.
My point is, I don’t think many Prius owners buy them for the image or some imagined financial payback, they buy it because they find it more interesting and appealing than the other bland sedans it competes with. That they are useful 5 doors cars, and quieter and more efficient in traffic is a bonus.
Cars are much higher priced in Canada..This made more sense 10 years ago when the Canadian dollar was worth only $.60, but now with the money almost at par prices haven’t gone down. Then add 13% HST sales tax.
Perhaps that’s why you can buy a BMW 3 series with a 2.5 litre engine or a Mark IV Jetta or Golf called the City with 2.o litre engines.
Hell, here in Buffalo even a case of Labatt Blue is only $17.00, half the price that Torontonians pay.
Canadians are cheap? News to me.
Alrighty canucks, lets clear this up. We aren’t cheap. We know when we are getting ripped of (i.e. hybrid pricing) and we don’t bite.
In addition, have you seen our housing prices compared to the US? If we were all cheap we would live in shacks. Maybe then our prices would be equal. Plus, we don’t make any more but lose a tonne in taxes. We aren’t cheap, we just don’t have loads to blow on overpriced and troubled hybrid technology when we have a very significant social network to support.
Maybe Toyota can increase Prius sales in Canada by changing the material they use to construct the car!
I currently live in Hamilton, ON so here are my reasons why I am not interested in a hybrid:
1. They cost too much. Yes, there is a premium here in southern Ontario on these cars. Yes, there is an exchange rate with the US that usually adds another 10-20% onto the MSRP. Add up all these little things (without a whole lot of government incentives) and it doesn’t make sense to get one.
2. Salt and Cold weather. In southern Ontario, we have “moderate” winters with temperatures even better than say Buffalo! Still, 30s, 40s for weeks on end does create inefficiencies in the battery of a hybrid. The real killer to all cars is the salt southern Ontario puts on their roads. With moderate winters and salt, the roads are usually caked with this very salty slush. It rusts a car like nothing. Are you going to get 10years worth of utility out of the hybrid body in this weather? Probably not.
3. Traffic Patterns of all kinds. Sure, during the week the urban congestion around Hamilton, Toronto is hard to take. There are just as many miles put on a car on the weekends when people flee the cities for their cottages, camps, beaches hundreds of miles away. Your regular weekday car has to have the capability of being an efficient fuel sipper for the weekdays but then hope in them on Friday night and drive 100 miles or more for a cottage weekend. The hybrid market, being upscale, is targetting that cottage going crowd and if the manufacturers don’t get that kind of driving demand, they aren’t going to sell here.