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It´s a similar story in football. NFL teams that are predictable on offense or defense seldom win the Super Bowl. That´s one reason why teams spend weeks studying for their next foe; scrutinizing hours of video to try to figure out what their opponent is might do in a given situation.

I try to do something similar with this car column, changing the type of vehicle covered from week to week or the tone of the writing itself.

This week, however, I´m going to throw you a pitch you hardly ever see.

Or, for you NFL fans who would rather watch the Buffalo Bills play the Oakland Raiders than sit through even a single pitch of a World Series Game 7, let´s just say I´ve got a different game plan this week.

Instead of writing about a specific vehicle, I´m going to share some observations that resulted from the feedback on last week´s column about Ford´s Fusion Hybrid.

Hybrids lately haven´t been attracting the attention and generating the buzz they did when gas cost over $4 a gallon. Or when Honda offered the first hybrid to the public and Toyota followed with the first hybrid that the average consumer might consider owning.

But the questions and comments sent in after the Fusion Hybrid review ran suggested there´s still a lot of interest -- and uncertainty -- about these vehicles. I was surprised by the number of people who are worried about all sorts of things from hybrid batteries exploding in an accident to major maintenance headaches.

So here´s the deal: There´s no need to worry.

Hybrid technology isn´t really all that foreign to automakers anymore. Although hybrid power trains add elements absent in conventional ones, they don´t require the kind of engineering feats that put a man on the moon or built the pyramids.

And while there are a few additional components on hybrids compared to conventional vehicles -- meaning there are obviously a few more things that can go wrong -- the warranties on hybrid vehicles should offer peace of mind to all but the most paranoid consumers.

The same can be said for hybrid safety. I´m no insurance underwriter, but I´d bet that if you´ve ever flown on a commercial airline flight -- or strapped on a pair of ice skates or skis -- you´ve probably taken a greater safety risk than you would driving a hybrid vehicle versus a conventionally powered one.

Given their concerns about dependability and safety, though, I´m amazed that consumers almost never ask about the value of hybrid vehicles. My surprise stems from the fact that until recently, hybrid vehicles have generally not been good values.

Simply put, it can take years of fuel savings for the typical hybrid to pay for its increased cost versus a comparably equipped, conventionally powered counterpart.

Just how long a hybrid takes to pay for itself depends on miles driven, the cost of gasoline, and the fuel economy of the hybrid and its counterpart. In a comparison I did last year, the quickest hybrid premium payback was six years based on $2.50 per gallon gasoline and 12,000 miles driven annually.

If gas is $3 a gallon, the Fusion Hybrid could take only about half that time to cover its extra cost. New hybrid models from other manufacturers also might cover their premium prices in just a few years, but I haven´t done the calculations.

I realize some hybrid buyers are more concerned with minimum pollution than maximum value, but I strongly advise anyone considering buying a hybrid to do the cost/fuel savings calculations.

I´d offer the same advice to anyone considering buying a diesel-powered vehicle. Diesels have long been popular in Europe because they´re inexpensive to build and operate, are incredibly durable, and provide plenty of torque from relatively small displacement engines.

But Americans have ignored them because they´ve been noisy and smelly.

Manufacturers, however, have come up with a new generation of more refined diesels. Gone is the stink, pollutants, and most of the noise. Yet the dependability, power -- especially in turbo-diesels -- and great fuel economy are still there.

Some diesels even deliver hybrid-like fuel economy in bigger, heavier vehicles.

But just like hybrids, these diesels may not be great values when you crunch the numbers. It´s not unusual for a manufacturer to charge $3,000 or $4,000 more for the diesel version of a particular model. How long will it take to make up that price premium at the fuel pump?

Consumers considering a diesel should always ask that question. Unfortunately, the answer can be elusive because the price of diesel fuel fluctuates so much.

For most of the time that I´ve had my driver´s license, diesel cost less than regular unleaded. Yet when I tested a diesel-powered Mercedes-Benz a year ago, its fuel cost around 50 percent more than regular unleaded gasoline. Today the difference is less than 10 percent (around 20 to 30 cents/gallon).

Consumers considering diesel- and hybrid-powered vehicles aren´t the only ones who should think carefully and do some serious calculating before making a purchase. Those thinking about going small also might realize that sometimes bigger really is better.

I have the opportunity to live with a different vehicle every week, and those vehicles range in size from massive SUVs to tiny economy cars. Like you, I have to keep them filled with fuel (although only for a week at a time; not the length of a lease or car loan).

One of the things that is most obvious from week to week is that size matters. In general, small vehicles are more nimble, maneuverable, economical and fun to drive than big ones. And big ones are generally more versatile, roomy, rugged and comfortable than small ones.

Those facts seem so obvious and universal that it really surprises me how quickly American consumer tastes shifted from large vehicles to small ones. I realize how easy it was for folks to envision going small every time they paid 100 bucks to fill a big pickup or SUV with gas, but this nevertheless represented a seismic shift in American thinking.

For nearly 20 years, we had embraced honkin´ big vehicles. Almost overnight, they became pariahs.

In general, that´s a good thing ... for our country, for the world and for our roads. Smaller vehicles obviously mean less pollution, less fossil fuel consumption and less congestion on the road and in parking lots.

But trying to cram four adults, all of their luggage, and a chocolate Lab into the Fusion Hybrid reminded me that an oversized, three-row, eight-passenger SUV with enough luggage space for a cargo trunk can sometimes be indispensable.

Not long after that experience with the midsize Fusion, I found myself trying to fit two adults, two kids, several soccer bags and balls, along with a whole set of ice hockey goalie pads and equipment into a Jaguar XK sports coupe.

Under normal circumstances, I´d much rather drive the Jag than any SUV or truck. But that day I would have traded it in a heartbeat for a pickup truck -- or small aircraft carrier, for that matter.

Kidding aside, the point is that it doesn´t make much sense to own any vehicle if it doesn´t suit your needs. Those needs vary from consumer to consumer, and it doesn´t make sense for someone who tows a motor home or has a family of seven and two golden retrievers to own a tiny, high-mileage economy car whether gas costs $2 a gallon or $5.

Scott Wasser is executive editor of MaineToday Media. He writes a weekly auto column for the Sunday Telegram and other newspapers. He can be reached at

swasser@pressherald.com

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