In its 2012 Car Brand Perception Survey, Consumer Reports added a couple of questions to assess “America’s pulse” on plug-in vehicles. In particular, the magazine asked the general public questions pertaining mainly to plug-in vehicle safety.

Of the surveyed group, 43 percent of respondents believe that plug-in vehicles feel are as safe as gasoline-fueled automobiles and 20 percent deemed them safer. However, 28 percent fell that electrified vehicles are less safe than their gas-fueled counterparts.

While limited range was the most prevalent (77 percent) concern, fire risk during charging was a concern voiced by nearly half (44 percent) of the respondents. Other safety-related concerns included pedestrian safety due to silent operation (40 percent concerned), crash protection (39 percent) and post-crash fire concerns (35 percent), which ties directly to recent Chevy Volt incidents. At the bottom of the listed concerns were electric shock (30 percent) and accident avoidance (29 percent).

In its 2012 survey, Consumer Reports assessed “America’s pulse” on plug-in vehicles and discovered that the general public has numerous concerns in regards to electrified automobiles.

According to Consumer Reports, most of these responses reveal that the general public is misinformed regarding plug-in vehicles. As the magazine so accurately states, “Exposure to such vehicles and more education should help consumers better understand that electrified cars have been proven safe alternatives to traditional cars. It is a shame the Volt incidents likely misguided consumers and potentially impacted the short-term adoption rate for this promising new technology.”

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The limited-supply BMW ActiveE lease program began in January. BMW is calling the 700 drivers who’ll lease the all-electric 1-Series “Electronauts.”

January sales always drop significantly from the prior year-ending month and this time around it was no different.

Generally, December sales are very high as year-end sales are in place. This rule of thumb applying to vehicles in general is also true for hybrid, plug-in, and diesel vehicles.

While overall sales in January were at a strong rate (over 14 million at an annual rate based on seasonal adjustment factors), the actual number of sales was down 27 percent from December 2011. Hybrid sales were down a similar rate, at 30 percent and plug in sales were down 48 percent (although the low volume of these sales makes the comparison less meaningful). Diesel sales dropped less, at 22 percent, than the overall market or the hybrids or plug ins.

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Can the hybrid version appeal where TDI has not?

Can hybrid technology lift VW’s US sales?

Back in college an old girlfriend drove a Volkswagen Jetta. I loved it, although I was glad I had the privilege of just driving it, not owning it. That Jetta seemed to need more servicing than normal, and it was always expensive. Still, it was fun to drive. Then again, when you don’t own a car, any car seems fun to drive.

And that driving experience has made VW one of the biggest selling automakers in the world, despite an inability to truly resonate in the US. However, can the Jetta hybrid succeed where other VWs, especially the TDI’s, have failed?

While enthusiasts typically love VW’s TDI technology, the German automaker has been unable to convince mainstream Americans of the virtues of its turbo-charged, highly efficient, clean diesel technology. Maybe it was the crappy commercials, I don’t know, but we don’t Spreken Sie das auto here in the States.

Regardless, VW is going to add a hybrid version to the Jetta later this year, but will it fare any better than the TDI?

I haven’t yet tested the Jetta hybrid, but it’s focus on a combination of fuel economy and turbo-charged power, I find intriguing. VW expects the Jetta hybrid to hit about 45 mpg combined, while offering up a hybrid-shocking 177 hp. Hence, the Jetta TDI will be a sporty hybrid, in the truest sense of the phrase. Yes, that does seem a bit of an oxymoron, but at 45 mpg, it’s OK to have your cake and eat it too.

Even better, according to an early MotorTrend driving review, the new Jetta hybrid sounds like a winner.

Except for one thing.

Unfortunately, VW is only expecting about 5 percent of Jetta buyers to take the hybrid option, even though MotorTrend seems to suggest this is the best Jetta, except for the TDI — they are enthusiasts over at MT!

5 percent? In terms of US Jetta sales, that ain’t squat. In fact, what’s the point? PR? The halo effect? Coax ‘em in with the lure of efficient TDIs and hybrids and let them leave in a watered down, but cheaper, gasoline version?

I guess when top execs from the VW family publicly ridicule hybrid cars and plug-ins, regularly — even hatefully — one shouldn’t expect too much.

While it seems the new Jetta hybrid will be an exciting, new entrant into the hybrid segment, VW’s sale’s expectations suggest a high hybrid price with little chance for US success.

2020: More e-bikes in China than cars in US

100 million electric vehicles strong and growing fast

Back as the Internet bubble was beginning to froth, I remember some very smart people making the argument that no one was ever going to challenge Microsoft without government intervention. The government didn’t need to create competition, I argued, the marketplace would take care of the problem and the Internet would lead the way.

Like the Internet, electrification is also an inevitable game changer, but just as Microsoft misjudged the Internet revolution, so too might major automakers and the government miscalculate the plug-in revolution.

In fact, China might have already biked its way into total plug-in domination.

Companies with the size and power of a Microsoft almost inevitably become complacent. The Big 3 certainly have had their share of such arrogance, although the recent recession did temper this losing attitude to some extent. Even Toyota fell into the same elitist trap, only to be reinvigorated by the entrepreneurial spirit of Elon Musk and Tesla.

Yet, even Musk might have misjudged the electric revolution.

As Americans, we arrogantly assume the rest of the world is inevitably going to become more like us. Why? We’re a pretty dysfunctional bunch. We have so much, yet we use it so unwisely. We excel most at consumption and waste — even when it comes to our plug-in vehicles.

Certainly, others want to consume more, even waste more, but they still have different expectations. Likewise, the Chinese auto market might never go through an SUV craze such as America experienced back in the 90’s. In fact, they might never buy the big is better American automotive mantra. In places like China, big is often a pain in the butt, even if you can afford it.

A plug-in electric bike, or e-bike, on the other hand, fits China’s transportation background, and it’s simply more functional and far cheaper than a car, especially one of American size.

That doesn’t mean the Chinese, and other emerging markets, won’t want cars. They probably will, but they’ll have no problem adapting to much smaller and lighter vehicles than most Americans, even Europeans, would consider. In fact, China can create a new mold for transportation — one that might be more bike-like than car-like, and one that fits the limits of electrification much better than the American, out-of-date, model.

Just as tapping into the Internet doesn’t make a business a winner, as the Internet bubble so eloquently proved, neither does simply chasing electrification. It’s the applications and the business models that will define winners and losers. And dominating electrification will mean leaving last century’s transportation model behind.

Even that realization, however, might not matter because with 100 million electric bikes purchased in just the last decade — in a segment growing far faster than autos — China might have already won the plug-in vehicle revolution.