Toyota Yaris is more popular than Toyota Prius

Yes, it is true. The green house effect and soaring price of fuel have put our lives in jeopardy and fuel efficient, eco-friendly hybrid cars are the choice of the season but there is a catch; MONEY. The hybrid cars come with a higher price tag which makes them out of rich for many people. Hence, traditional four cylinder cars are still dominating the highways. Even today in the USA, hybrids consist of 3% of the new cars sold and SUVs 14%. Canada.com reports:

The four-bangers account for 37 per cent of the U.S. market, up from 30 per cent just three years ago

The fact is that hybrids are still quite expensive -- $30,000-plus -- and no matter what the opinion surveys say about how green we have all become in our purchase choices, the bottom line is still the bottom line.

"For now, the easiest, cheapest way for new-car shoppers to get better mileage is to choose a model with a conventional four-cylinder engine. And they are," said Jason Rothkop, a J.D. Power and Associates analyst recently.

Toyota Prius from Toyota Motor Corporation (TYO: 7203) may be the most popular hybrid in the USA, it is facing serious competition from Toyota Yaris model. The little car saw an 83% rise in sales in March. Prius may not be so cheap but American people are buying more fuel efficient small cars. Compared to the USA, Canada people are more into small cars and if you are a resident of Canada you check the fuel efficiency of all cars in the region from the website: http://oee. nrcan.gc.ca. You can also obtain a hard copy of the Fuel Consumption Guide 2008.

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Canada.com

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