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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.
Hence why Americans like to drive cars with 6L v8s and can afford to drive a truck to work everyday.
Is 1563649 a prime number?
I'm sorry but the sort of person who would buy a "hybrid fusion" vehicle will absolutely NOT be driving that same car five years from today. It's trendy. The only reliable facet of trendy vehicle] [or trendy anything] is that they will be out of fashion - SOON. Come on...what kind of self-respecting eco-driver would still drive a five year old car? If nothing else, the newer cars will be more efficient, and the trendy car owner will faint at the thought of driving such an out-of-date and unfashionable vehicle.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
Used hybrid == replace the batteries. A laptop's batteries have a 1 year warranty for a reason, and car batteries are just the same thing. So even though a used Prius may cost a bit less than new, be ready to cough up the $6000 to $10,000 to replace it every 2-3 years, just like you do with the battery on your laptop.
Nope, I buy nice cars, I just *want* to drive cars with less than 200k on them and less than 8 years old. Most people want the same thing, so it isn't unusual at all. They still run fine when I sell them. My lifestyle requires that the car be relatively nice and very reliable.
Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
Some of us don't care about it being a pure economic benefit play. I make a decent wage and didn't mind subsidizing Toyota's R&D by buying an '08 Camry Hybrid for my wife. But then again, I own a Roadster and have $5K down on a Model S, so I'm not your typical consumer. If you're going to base your decision solely on ROI, wait until us first adopters have thrown money at the problem by buying the cars when they're expensive so others can buy them when the price drops.
Ever look at the Tesla web site?
Ever look at real world tests of Tesla's where they don't even get HALF of their claimed range? A car that can only drive for 45 minutes and then needs 8 hours of charging is NOT practical in any sense of the word.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson
Perhaps he's using the 'big government' meaning of the word subsidy.
Just like cutting taxes is referred to as 'increasing the deficit' the word for 'not taxing the price of gas up' is 'subsidizing.'
It's a mindset of big government types.