There is one reason and one reason alone that hybrid vehicles are not soon to find a significant foothold in the southern United States. Can you guess what it is?

Pickup Trucks.

Unless you live in a major urban area in the south, there’s a good chance you own a gas guzzling pickup truck…and if you don’t, you wish you did. Take me for example. I sold my 4x4 Chevy 1500 5 years ago when gas prices drastically soared to never before seen heights…and I’ve missed it ever since.

Why does everyone feel like they need a pickup truck here in the south? Because we actually do! Here in Nashville, TN only people who live in downtown Nashville can get away with not needing a truck on a regular basis. I live in the suburbs and find myself wishing for the return of my truck all the time.

On any given day someone in the south may need to haul a load of dirt, rip a stump out of the ground, help a friend move, or many other countless scenarios.

So let’s say that southerners could actually do without their beloved pickup trucks. Would they? Probably not. Pickup trucks are part of the culture here. The thing about even the largest of southern urban centers is that you can usually drive about 30 minutes in any direction and be in an area where gravel roads, field parties, bonfires, and farms abound.

Because pickup trucks are both built into the culture AND actually used or needed on a regular basis is why I say they are the sole reason that hybrids are doomed here in the south.

But what about hybrid pickup trucks that have been hitting the market in the past couple of years? Most pickup truck drivers I know laugh at them….and rightly so. GMC’s 2007 Sierra Hybrid and Chevy’s 2007 Silverado Hybrid were abysmally rated at 19 mpg on the highway and 17 mpg in the city.

Yeah, you read that right…that was the gas mileage for the hybrid models!

Luckily the 2009 GMC Sierra Hybrid and Chevy Silverado are reported to not only make vast improvements in fuel consumption, but also actually function more like a truck should…but will it be enough or are hybrids doomed in the south?

>> Check out Greenopia's Guide to the Ultimate Green Car for a look at the future of eco friendly cars.