My friend Tim bought a Toyota Prius a few weeks back. Normally when one of my friends buys a new car I don’t feel inclined to write a blog post announcing it to the world, but in this case I feel differently.

Tim does not fit the basic demographics of your average hybrid car owner. According to a December 2007 Scarborough Research study that examined the behaviors of hybrid car owners, the typical hybrid car buyer is older, more affluent, physically active/outdoorsy, liberal and highly educated as compared to the average car buyer.

According to the study:

• 42% of hybrid owners make $100,000 or more per year;
• Hybrid owners are more than twice as likely as all U.S. adults to have a college degree;
• 38% of hybrid owners identify themselves as Democratic, and 34% identify themselves as Independents;
• Hybrid owners are 10% more likely than the average American to vote in every Presidential Election;
• Hybrid owners are generally physically active, with 33% stating they belong to a gym or health club (as compared to 18% of the total population);
• Twice as many hybrid owners purchase organic food than do average American.

In looking over this study, it’s clear that Tim does not fit the typical picture of a hybrid owner. Tim is a heavy machine operator – he operates a Caterpillar Excavator that has a 160-gallon gas tank which he empties on a daily basis. Last I checked, Tim wasn’t pulling in $100,000 annually, though I’m sure he wishes he were!

Tim’s a young guy too – he’s probably about 36, doesn’t have a college degree that I know of, and doesn’t belong to a gym. And while Tim is active (you kind of have to be to drive a Caterpillar Excavator) – he sails and boats when it’s nice – I couldn’t imagine him doing Pilates or Yoga – 2 other characteristics of hybrid owners. I couldn’t really imagine Tim admitting to eating organic food, though I’m sure he consumes it at times – rather, when I think of what Tim eats I think of meat, potatoes and beer.

When talking to Tim about trading in his 2000 Mercury Mountaineer, he stressed the fact that his truck gets 19-20 MPG (highway driving), and 15 MPG in the winter. His new car is going to save him upwards of $300 a month! When talking about why he bought a Prius, Tim says, “They left me no choice.” The cost of fuel has risen so high that Tim has had to change his habits significantly to fight back and not spend so much money on fuel.

The fact that Tim made the decision to buy a Prius means more than that he is an outlyer when it comes to his age, income and lifestyle choices. Tim is the canary in the coal mine – he is the warning that the time is NOW for us all to change our behaviors and start paying attention to how our individual actions affect our environment, our communities and our world.

Car companies should sit up and take notice when SUV-driving, heavy machine operating guys like Tim trade in their 4-wheel drive for hybrid technology. While Tim’s motives may not have been 100% environmentally propelled, the fact is that his actions will have an environmental impact as he lowers his carbon footprint and enters the world of forced environmentalism.

While most of us are still driving conventional gas-powered clunkers (like my Jeep Cherokee for example), car companies have started producing more alternatives to the internal combustion engine. If you are in the market for a new vehicle, consider buying a vehicle that is at least partially powered by an alternative fuel source.

1. Hybrids. The best known of the hybrids, the Toyota Prius starts at $21,1000 and boosts an impressive 48 miles per gallon (mpg) city driving, 45 mpg on the highway and 46 mpg combined (when the car switches between electric and gasoline power). The 2008 Nissan Altima Hybrid, is another attractive option, but has limited availability and can only be purchased in California, New York, New Jersey and throughout New England. The Altima gets about 35 mpg and can run for 600 miles on one tank. Starting at $25,070, the Altima is pricier than the Prius, but larger, more stylish and also ranked #1 among mid-size hybrids by Motor Trend Magazine.

2. E85 Ethanol. The Chevrolet Impala E85 is considered a flex-fuel vehicle and runs on a blend of 85% Ethanol and 15% gasoline, or a combination of the two. The fuel economy of the Impala is nowhere near as good as that of hybrids however. The Impala is listed at 18 mpg city driving and 29 mpg on the highway. Interestingly, while looking around the Chevrolet website, I found that their 2008 Aveo (which is built with a traditional gasoline engine), gets better gas mileage than their flex-fuel vehicles with 24 mpg city driving and 34 on the highway. If you’re in the market for a large truck, consider the Ford F150 E85. Starting at $17,520, the Ford F150 has all of the power and towing capacity (up to 11,000 pounds) of a Ford truck, but its fuel emissions are not where they could be. With a listing of approximately 14 mpg city and 19 mpg highway driving, its clear that Ford needs to step up its research and development into more fuel efficient heavy-duty trucks.

3. Diesel. Volkswagen is launching a line of new diesel-powered vehicles in the US this year, and according to their site, the cars will be legal in all 50 states. While the Volkswagen Sportwagen is not yet available in this country, it’s been rumored that the hatchback is coming early this year and will boost an impressive 50 mpg fuel economy. According to HybridCars.com, diesel versions of the Touareg and Jetta TDI will also be for sale in the US in the spring of 2008.

Even with these new technologies, it is clear that we must demand better options for powering our vehicles. Buying a car, truck or SUV with an alternative fuel source is a great start, but to really affect change we have to start demanding better technologies, more efficient fuels and higher fuel emission standards. A good place to start making demands is by voting in more environmentally-friendly (and less big auto/oil friendly) legislators or by writing your legislators in Congress.
You can find a comprehensive list of cars, SUVs and trucks powered by alternative fuels on HybridCars.com.