Most hybrid owners wouldn't buy another

This post is from Michael Koretzky at partner site Money Talks News.

The deadline to file your taxes is Monday, and a new survey by eBay says 21% of Americans who expect a refund will spend at least part of it on a new or used car. But will they buy a hybrid?

Toyota announced last week that U.S. sales of the Prius hit an all-time high -- 28,711 sold in March. While that's 54% more than the same month a year ago, it's still puny compared with the Toyota Camry, which had sales of 42,567 last month.

Now a new survey suggests that most hybrid owners will go back to gas-only vehicles. "While the selection of hybrid models in the U.S. has more than doubled since 2007, only 35% of hybrid vehicle owners choose to purchase a hybrid again," says automotive research firm Polk.

The only good news is for Toyota: "If repurchase behavior among the high volume audience of Toyota Prius owners isn't factored in, hybrid loyalty drops to under 25%."

That's bad news for the Honda Civic Hybrid, the Ford Fusion Hybrid, the Lexus HS 250h, the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and more than a dozen other models. But how can hybrid owners be unhappy in this era of nearly $4-a-gallon gasoline? Part of the reason may be that the survey was conducted in 2011, so prices weren't as high as they are today. But another reason may be purchase price vs. fuel savings.

"The lineup of alternate-drive vehicles and their premium price points just aren't appealing enough to consumers to give the segment the momentum it once anticipated," says Lacey Plache, chief economist for car-pricing site Edmunds.com. Plache says that's especially true "given the growing strength of fuel economy among compact and midsize competitors." (Post continues below.)

In other words, standard gas-powered cars are getting more fuel-efficient at lower sticker prices. "Hybrid, electric car owners must wait years for savings," read a recent headline in the Charlotte Observer. The newspaper reported that "opting for models that promise better mileage through new technologies does not necessarily save money."