USA Today reports on a new study that indicates Millennials – those Gen Y’rs born after 1982 – prefer hybrid cars over those with V8s. The survey, conducted by the consulting company Deloitte, exposes a disturbing trend, and points out a glaring statistical minimization of the mullet population in the data set. Regardless, it does indicate that kids today, when they aren’t being shoo’d off of peoples lawns, or being turned into the next Disney franchise, seem to value fuel efficiency over brute accelerocity. The question then is whether or not this is a manifestation of the insouciance of youth, or if this miles over miles per hour fashion is in vogue across other age groups? You of course value bury-you-in-the-seat acceleration and smoke screen creating parking lot donuts over how little gas it takes getting to Krispy Kreme.  We aren’t planet Earth haters here, but we still value traditional measures of performance over how far you can get before the squirrel in your hybrid has to start running in his wheel. But are we antiquated in our values? Are the kids are all right about what is the automotive performance measure today, even if they’re wrong about so much else? What sayeth you about this trend that is seeing Hybrids out desire V8 performance? Is that something that’s simply driven by high fuel prices and will blow over when gas goes back below two bucks a gallon like that nice lady with the crazy eyes promised? Or, are we seeing a new era of performance take off, one where how much you use is more important than how fast you use it?

Image source: [BuildingGreen]