Hybrid Car Term Paper

Bias Critique

Thackery, John. "Hybrid autos REV up: but will SUV-addicted buyers opt for an environmentally friendly car that saves on gas but commands a premium price?" Electronic Business: Automotive Electronics. Oct 2002 v28 i10 pp. 64(5)

Even before reading the article, "Hybrid autos REV up" an informed consumer of the media should know that quite often automobile and electronics magazines are highly favorable of the industries they chronicle. The industry is essentially their 'bread and butter' of such magazines -- i.e. without cars, fancy car gadgets, and car aficiandos, there would be no audiences for such segmented magazines. The credentials of John Thackery, the article's author, are not immediately obvious, but the article's title "Hybrid autos REV up: but will SUV-addicted buyers opt for an environmentally friendly car that saves on gas but commands a premium price?" suggests a highly positive slant is being given to the vehicles, for in addition to its context in the magazine, the article's title stresses the rev-ing up of the presumably previously puny engines of the electric vehicles.Hence, the imminent revving up of sales, suggests Thackery.

However, the article does provide credible statistical evidence to suggest the car's popularity, noting "Toyota has sold a total of 100,000 of all types of HEVs worldwide in the last five years and boasts that it will crank out 300,000 HEVs annually by 2005, as more car buyers show a preference for lower emissions and better mileage." As further testimony to the likely future popularity of the cars it also notes as well that in addition to Toyota, Honda and Nissan have also begun to offer hybrid cars. Other automotive manufacturers plan to introduce electric cars in the next few years, including Ford, General Motors and Daimler Chrysler. All of these manufactures, incidentally, have linked advertisements to this article on….....