Shunning the Practical Plug-in Hybrid for the Microbus Electric-Koolaid Acid Dream

Plug-in hybrids should be dominating American driveways, given their perfect fit for daily routines and our charging-infrastructure woes. Yet sales lag. American consumers seem to be realizing that the all-electric future is, right now, more a mirage than an immediate destination. But they don’t seem to recognize that plug-in hybrids are the sweet spot. So why didn’t I buy one? Why did we buy the VW Electric Microbus ID.BUZZ instead of the Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrid?

My view: the plug-in hybrid is truly the sweet spot in automotive technology for all those who are not in the business of using rentals for the occasional extended trip. And yet demand for plug-in hybrids is way lower than shoukd be the case if auto buyers in general agreed with me. Why are plug-in hybrid sales so low?

Adam Tooze presents us with a graph:

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I concur with the American consumer’s increasing recognition over the past two years that the time of the pure EV is not yet: spotty charging-infrastructure, inconvenient length of charging time, and battery weight for an extended range all being big issues. But I do not understand why plug-in hybrid sales are not now a multiple of non-plug-in hybrid.

And what are the 79% who are still buying pure gasoline motors here in the United States thinking? Do they not understand that more than half of themselves—more than half of Americans with cars—drive less than 40 miles/day? Do they not understand that that is the range of a modern Prius Prime or RAV4? And do they not understand that hauling around an extra half-ton of battery just for the occasions when you do exceed 40 miles (and don’t have the opportunity to top off the battery during one of your stops) is inefficient, and also costly?

Well, I should be asking myself, shouldn’t I? I mean, I am the proud owner of a brand-new three-month old VW Microbus: the all-electric ID.BUZZ:

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In part, this was an overreaction to the state of the 22-year-old Subaru station wagon, with its oil leak, water leak, power steering-fluid leak, cracked bearing, non-functional radio, plus the engine never sounded right after the water-pump replacement. In part, this was residual sadness about never having owned a VW Microbus in our youth. (It has been a definite source of pleasure for many of our neighbors: I cannot tell you how many of those in their 70s and 80s have reminisced to us about driving Highway 1 in a VW Microbus on acid back in The Day.)

Mostly it was that too much of the time we had found ourselves saying “we will have to take two cars”. And when we looked at footprint (it is only 1’ longer and 1’ wider than the Subaru was) and wanted serious space in terms of seating for 7 plus a usable cargo area, it really looked as though VW had better engineered the cabin part of the cabin-on-a-skateboard that is a modern EV. The vehicles that came up close for us were the Kia EV9 and the Hyundai Ioniq 9. And that was it.

But why not what I said I think of as a sweet spot—the plug-in hybrid? Well, the only thing that came close seemed to be the Chrysler Pacifica. However, it is 9” longer than the VW ID.BUZZ for 5% less cabin space. Losing the cabin-on-skateboard seemed a serious cost, especially as I envisioned (correctly) a lot of street-parallel and crowded-garage parking here in BayAreaMetropolis.

But, truth be told, we probably should have. We spent an extra $10,000 on the car and tied ourselves to the EV charging-infrastructure hassle because we did not feel like being quite so boring.

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References:

Argonne National Laboratory. “Light Duty Electric Drive Vehicles Monthly Sales Updates.”
https://www.anl.gov/esia/light-duty-electric-drive-vehicles-monthly-sales-updates
Bureau of Transportation Statistics. “Hybrid-Electric, Plug-in Hybrid-Electric and Electric Vehicle Sales.”
https://www.bts.gov/content/gasoline-hybrid-and-electric-vehicle-sales
Car and Driver. “2025 Chrysler Pacifica Review, Pricing, and Specs.”
https://www.caranddriver.com/chrysler/pacifica
Car and Driver. “2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz Review, Pricing, and Specs.”
https://www.caranddriver.com/volkswagen/id-buzz-microbus
Chrysler. “2025 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Specs.”
https://www.chrysler.com/pacifica/hybrid/specs.html
Kelley Blue Book. “Average Miles Driven Per Year: Why It Is Important.”
https://www.kbb.com/car-advice/average-miles-driven-per-year/
Pew Research Center. “Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure in the U.S.”
https://www.pewresearch.org/data-labs/2024/05/23/electric-vehicle-charging-infrastructure-in-the-u-s/
Tooze, Adam. “Top Links 774: One Big Beautiful Giveaway.” Chartbook, June 19, 2025. ttps://adamtooze.substack.com/p/top-links-774-one-big-beautiful-giveaway
U.S. Department of Energy. “FOTW #1332, March 4, 2024: Daily Vehicle Miles Traveled Varies with the Number of Household Vehicles.”
https://www.energy.gov/eere/vehicles/articles/fotw-1332-march-4-2024-daily-vehicle-miles-traveled-varies-number-household
U.S. Energy Information Administration. “Hybrid vehicle sales continue to rise as electric and plug-in vehicle shares remain flat.”
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail
Volkswagen. “2025 VW ID. Buzz: The Electric Bus.”
https://www.vw.com/en/models/id-buzz.html