hybrid automobile will be the focus of research into the motives consumers have for purchasing hybrids. Issues that will be reviewed include psychological and social factors, attitudes, personalities, family, socioeconomic factors and other issues.

History of Hybrid and Electric Autos in the U.S.

The first known electric vehicle was built by Robert Anderson in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1839. The first known hybrid car was designed in 1898 by Ferdinand Porsche; called the Lohner-Porsche Elektromobil, it could travel 38 miles in electricity alone (Berman, 2007).

Meanwhile in the United States, when the government and consumer advocacy groups began to realize that lead emissions from the exhaust of automobiles contributed a deadly dose of pollution into the air, steps were taken to reduce lead emissions. In 1973, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued new standards that called for "…a gradual reduction of lead emissions from gasoline," according to Curtis and Judy Anderson...
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