www.autoblog.com/entry/1234000233061415
Thats the conclusion of Joe White, Detroit Bureau Chief for The Wall Street Journal, who looked into buying a Prius for his own daily driver . White was interviewed on NPRs Morning Edition September 30.
here) White first looked at trading in his Subaru for a Prius, and found that a t roughly $3 per gallon for gas, he wouldnt recover his financing costs . Joe figured that at his annual mileage, hed save about $746 a year in fuel costs, but it would take too long to recover the premium hed pay for the hybrid. Next he looked at the hypothetical situation of someone without a car loo king to buy either a Honda Civic or the Prius. In this case, the fuel sa vings were roughly $506 per year, versus a purchase price difference of about $8,000. Without even considering cost-of-money issues, it would ta ke nearly 16 years just to break even. With the current tax deduction of $2,000 converting to a $2,000 tax credi t January 1, which decreases every year thereafter, the government subsi dies dont make the switch economically feasible, either. Unless gas prices go a lot higher, or the government inc reases hybrid subsidies, or both, buying a hybrid probably wont save yo u money. Of course, there are the intangible but real benefits of reduci ng your personal environmental impact, but then you have to ask yourself if youre really getting the biggest bang for your environmental invest ment.
Add your comments) Reader Comments 1 Posted Oct 2, 2005, 6:08 PM ET by djSyndrome "versus a purchase price difference of about $8,000" You know, I'm no champion of Hybrids, but this is completely off-base. You can't even *get* a Civic for $13,000 any longer, mu ch less one with an automatic transmission, power everything, or anythin g else that comes standard on the Prius. The y were supossed to be what some people use to think of... you know savin g the planet, using less natural resources, less fuel, that old stuff. S o yes, does who buy them to save cash, then they should buy a freking ch evrolet aveo, or a scion, thats in a way lower class of course, but did nt you just said you wanted to SAVE money?... I would t hink a Civic vs a Civic Hybrid would be more applicable. The new Civic Hybrid, which gets 50mpg is only $2k over a comparably pric ed Civic. A recent review by forbes says you can recoupe the diffrence i n 45K miles, without the $2k tax deduction taken into consideration.
com/reviews/2006/honda/civic/hybrid/f 5 Posted Oct 2, 2005, 6:30 PM ET by sensitive_man I agree with #1 A Civic EX with Nav is $20,500 and gets avg. Plus I bet insurance is cheaper fo r a Prius than a loaded Civic. Additionally, there are other less tangible benefits than cash in your po cked to driving a vehicle that gets avg. You are looking at an easy $15k for a Corolla without even dilivery charges considered, and without half the stuff that the Pr ius has.
html Even, a Kia Rio with Automatic($900), powersteering($525), AM/FM/CD ($425 ), ABS($400), Powerwindows ($335), carpet($70), will cost you over $14K easy. My VW TDI has the same fuel economy as a hybrid without the extra costs and maintenance concerns.
iQuack I'm waiting for Joseph W's encyclopedia of why hybrids are so great despi te the evidence. Toyota deserves credit for innovation: the Prius is an excellent car and is perhaps a wise purchase for its design alone. Still, the economics of buying a hybrid don't exist yet (if ever) and it' s all pure tree-hugging feelgoodism for the "Save the Wales" and "Free T ibet" folks. The truth is that at current hybrid car and gasoline prices, hybrid vehic le buyers are just paying their expensive gasoline costs in advance.
Teddy Wong I've always thought that one of the benefits *anyone* would appreciate fr om driving a hybrid is the range you get. Another time I wish I had a hy brid, or better if everyone had a hybrid is waiting in the drive-thru. I t'd be nice if the engine auto-offs while I'm waiting in a line behind 1 0 SUVs smelling exhaust, losing my appetite. When it comes down to it, I agree with Albert #3: buying a hybrid is like recycling. You may not get much out of doing it, but it's probably wort h it in the long run. As added benefits you probably won't be carjacked for your prius (not a g etaway car of choice) nor have I seen any hybrid drive-bys (even though they roll up quietly on electric power) or even been the victim of a hyb rid-driven roadrager (hard to rage when maximizing fuel efficiency).
Posted Oct 2, 2005, 7:25 PM ET by Hooty Diesel, diesel, diesel. Why on Earth do you guys discuss hybrid motors wh en at the current state diesel engines are the best economical solution for cars.
Posted Oct 2, 2005, 7:27 PM ET by Hooty LOL, in the rest of the continent diesel is 20% cheaper (at least in Cana da). At the moment VW reliability is on par with Toyota and Honda.
Posted Oct 2, 2005, 7:37 PM ET by goat Hooty, Because the eco-goofs have made it impossible to buy a diesel in large se gments of the country. The supposed reason is emissions, but diesels put out less of most of the emissions that really matter (CO2, CO, HC). To tell you the truth, I think they really just want us to live in huts a nd eat bugs.
"the intangible but real benefits of reducing your personal environmental impact" I think the jury is still out on whether hybrids actually "reduce your pe rsonal environmental impact." You have to consider the additional manufacturing and disposal impacts of the additional equipment and batteries before you can make that call. Probably the most eco-friendly thing you can do is buy ('recycle') an old diesel and run biodiesel in it.
Posted Oct 2, 2005, 7:43 PM ET by Espen It's not really all that hard to see why his numbers don't add up... The Prius proves that hybrids work and can be sold alongside normal cars. All we need now is for development to continue bringing down the added cost. Toyota makes money on the Prius and are developing hybrid drivetrains in all their models. While domestic cars have yet to put out a competitive hybrid model. Of course it's tempting to attack the credibility and viab ility of a hybrid...
thesuperstar hybrids are just a small answer but not the solution. better and wiser al ternatives are needed to be used, like the future hydrogen fuel-cell car .
Posted Oct 2, 2005, 7:59 PM ET by md It really depends on how much you drive. We would not buy a hybrid at the ir current premiums simply because we don't drive enough miles in a year to make it worth the costs, especially if you factor in aditional maint anence costs for the batteries, planetary gearset, and CVT transmisions. Mo st people that have long commutes will find the premium being returned i n just a few years, however. It is just a matter of crunching numbers an d figuring out what makes sense for you. Diesel costs much less than gasoline in most parts of the country, namely those areas that don't ban diesel passenger cars, and even VW's diesels are about as reliable, durable, and long lasting as can be.
Posted Oct 2, 2005, 8:00 PM ET by joe I'm going to be real happy w/ my ownership costs for my Civic hybrid when I get the 2 tax credits equaling 4k this coming April. Take that off th e purchase price of 19,100 I paid for my car about 6 months ago and I th ink I made out all right. Regarding battery disposal, lets take a quick look at the BILLIONS of cop pertops and energizers that have been getting dumped in landfills since the, what early 50's, and then we can all have a discussion about the Hy brid batteries destroying our environment. I am at least somewhat confid ent that car manufactures (all of them, not just the foreign ones) will have a recycling program in place when these things do start dying. Im not a hippy, not an environmentalist, not some conservative or liberal wack job. Im just tired of my hard earned monies going overseas to fund backward nations who still wont let women vote. I consider my 45-mpg civic a big middle finger to the oil producing count ries of the Middle East.
Posted Oct 2, 2005, 8:10 PM ET by goat joe, But a hybrid only reduces the amount of oil money given to the Saudis, et . Biodiesel removes it all together, albeit only to the degree that...
|
http://csua.com/feed/