I like hte research you put into that, however, I think in our area of the world, something else you need to factor in is commute time. I know the rumor going around is that pretty soon hybrids won't be allowed in the HOV, but still you can HOV with one person in those things! Plus, whatever the tax break is for owning a hybrid....just my .02 to add :-)
Originally posted by fastcougar:
I know this is OT, but needs to be pointed out!

Hybrids in their current state are a JOKE! What do I mean by this? Simple economics will prevail to show what I am getting at.

I discovered this information while researching for a commuting car. I am moving 65 miles away from my job, so my daily commute will now be 130 miles a day. Obviously, I needed something that gets great gas mileage. My requirements:

1) Must be a 4 door sedan because I have a 2 yr. old child and rear seat accessability is a must on the weekends. Right off the bat, this excluded the best gasoline car of the lot, the Honda Civic HX because it is only offered as a coupe. However, to make my point, I will use it as an example.

Below is a refined list that I had to choose from based solely on gasoline consumption. I ruled out diesel power because VW is the only producer of cars in the US with diesel engines and well, their QC/QA has fallen steadily in the last 10 years and they are overpriced.

All quoted prices (MSRP) & EPA reported mileage are from kbb.com on a BASE model

All quoted Annual fuel cost are based on 70% highway driving, 30% city driving, 36000 annual miles and a fuel cost of $ 2.12 per gallon and where gathered from fueleconomy.gov:

Toyota Use Case

2005 Toyota Corolla CE
Cost: $14,320.00
EPA City: 32 MPG
EPA Hwy: 41 MPG
Annual Fuel Cost: $2008

2005 Toyota Prius Hybrid
Cost: $21,415.00
EPA City: 60 MPG
EPA Hwy: 51 MPG
Annual Fuel Cost: $1440

Price Difference = $7,095
Annual Fuel Savings = $568
Time To Recover Cost Difference = 12.5 years!

Honda Use Case

2005 Honda Civic HX
Cost: $14,475.00
EPA City: 36 MPG
EPA Hwy: 44 MPG
Annual Fuel Cost: $1861

2005 Honda Civic Hybrid
Cost: $20,565.00
EPA City: 46 MPG
EPA Hwy: 51 MPG
Annual Fuel Cost: $1558

Price Difference = $6,095
Annual Fuel Savings = $303
Time To Recover Cost Difference = 20 years!!!

This is also assuming that NOTHING goes wrong during the "recovery" time. Imagine a car that could run reliably for 20 years ... now wake up and smell the BS that all the major manufacturer are shoveling! The extra costs of these vehicles isn't worth the gas they are saving you from using ... buy a more economical gasoline engined car before sinking your money into a hybrid.

Also ponder this: How much do you think it cost to take your car to the dealer to have your battery replaced (parts & labor). Now imagine that your entire hybrid battery pack needs replacement (estimated to occure after 5-8 years of use) ... just speculating here, but I would say AT LEAST $1,000!


Ryan Trollin!