BW: The problem with hybrids is diesel?

Death of the hybrid Accord a setback to hybrids?

"Of course, the setbacks don't suggest it's the end of the road for hybrids—it certainly isn't for hybrid pioneers like Toyota and Honda. But it's clear that the difficulties that automakers face in marketing their hybrid engines are still vast, despite the growing awareness of environmental issues."

Wow. I doubt very much Honda ever thought it would sell more than several thousand Accord hybrid vehicles per year. In fact, when the Accord hybrid was developed, Honda didn't believe that such vehicles would EVER replace conventional vehicles. While Honda stepped up their hybrid game with the new Civic hybrid, Honda still isn't nearly as committed to hybrids as Toyota.

In addition to setbacks, such as the Accord, the BW article also claims that clean diesel is set to challenge the future of hybrids.

The death of another Honda hybrid?

What will hybrid vehicle critics do now?

Earlier this year I predicted the Honda Accord hybrid would be phased out. Yesterday, Forbes reported that Honda will not continue to produce the Accord hybrid when the Accord is redesigned this Fall.

The Accord hybrid, which was really more of a mild hybrid designed almost specifically for highway driving, was often the hybrid cited by critics when discussing the real world fuel economy of hybrid cars. Despite the fact that Honda never designed the hybrid Accord for extreme fuel economy, critics couldn't stop picking on hybrids via the very poor selling Accord hybrid.

Maybe critics will now start focusing on reality? Yeah, right.