Just One Out of 16 Hybrids Pays Back In Gas Savings

thecarchik writes with this snippet from GreenCarReports: "One of the criticisms of hybrid cars has historically been that there's no payback, especially given the cheap gasoline prices in the US. The extra money you spend on a hybrid isn't returned in gas savings, say critics. Well, that may be true, especially when regular gasoline is averaging $2.77 a gallon this week. But as we often point out, most people don't buy hybrids for payback — they buy them to make a statement about wanting to drive green. Nevertheless, a Canadian study has now looked at the question of hybrid payback in a country whose gasoline is more expensive than ours (roughly $3.70 per gallon this week), with surprising results. The British Columbia Automobile Association projected the fuel costs of 16 hybrids over five years against their purchase price and financing fees. In a study released in late July, only a single one of the 16 hybrids cost less to buy and run than its gasoline counterpart." The one car that would save you money, according the study, is the Mercedes S400 Hybrid sedan — and it will only cost you $105,000.

Comments

Re:Only true if you ignore the externalities

[operagost]

It's fun to read this kind of pessimism-- because a lot of the folks on Slashdot won't be happy until the One World Government mandates that everyone drive a plug-in electric charged up by wind generators. Slashdotters are sure that the great unwashed are stupid and ignorant, and have to be forced to do the right thing-- or even the logical thing. The fact is that the recession has woken up a lot of Americans to the cost of fossil fuels. Our oil consumption continues to FALL. Hummer is dead, and some large SUV models from major manufacturers followed it to the grave. Families still need room for the kids and their stuff, so the family Truckster has been reborn as the "crossover", which fortunately is much more fuel efficient than either the wagons or the SUVs it replaces.

Re:Short Study Timeframe

[ScrewMaster]

and you're just making things up because it's intellectually convenient for you to do so.

No, it's trendy. But his point stands. Plus which every goddamn Prius driver I encounter on the highway on the way to and from work is an inconsiderate prick who makes the average SUV driver look like a saint. They all seem to have their cruise controls set for 50 MPH while insisting on clogging the passing lane, and have trendy little iPhones stuck in their trendy little ears. Bastards

Worse yet, my State has decided, in its infinite wisdom, to set up a special lane just for people driving "efficient" vehicles on our tollways. Of course, they can't seem to manage to define what "efficient" is in this context (although one assumes that the Prius would qualify on principle, since it's the poster-boy for eco-friendliness.) The idea, of course, is to charge more money for less efficient vehicles: social engineering at its finest folks. Now, the hybrid really shines, in comparison to conventional vehicles, when operating in heavy traffic, whereas the standard internal combustion vehicle is far more efficient when running at a constant speed. So as usual, our government has got it exactly backwards. Dipsticks.

I gag at the thought of an endless stream of Prius drivers tooling along in their special "green" lane while the rest of us languish in stop and go watching our gas mileage go even further into the crapper.