Ravenwood - 06/02/05 07:30 AM
In April, Undercaffeinated exposed the hybrid car's dirty little secret:
Honda Accord LX V-6 - $23,950; average MPG - 25Edmunds and USA Today are finally catching up.
Honda Accord Hybrid V6 - $30,140; average MPG - 33If you put 15,000 miles on your car a year, and gas costs about $2 a gallon, the hybrid saves you $300/yr.
It would take over 20 years to make the difference back.
When compared with the smaller, gas-thrifty conventional Corolla, the Prius wouldn't equal the five-year costs unless it were driven 66,500 miles a year or gas reached $10.10 a gallon.
It's the heat pump effect. You never make up the costs, unless you want A/C anyway, or a long-running cigarette lighter, respectively.
Posted by: Ron Hardin at June 2, 2005 7:13 AMBut it makes the driver feel so good to be saving the environment. It's all about the feelings.
Posted by: Michael at June 2, 2005 12:10 PMAnd they aren't even considering the likely higher maintenance costs of hybrids. (A hideously expensive high voltage battery, and due to lower production volume I wouldn't be surprised if that itty-bitty engine costs more than a good 6-cylinder.)
Posted by: markm at June 2, 2005 3:51 PMAre they including the federal tax incentive to buy a hybrid? IIRC it's around $2000. Still doesn't make up for the higher cost by a long shot, but it would reduce the "payback" time.
Note: This is not to defend hybrids in any way. I still think they're a waste of money.
Posted by: Andrew Upson at June 3, 2005 12:33 AMI'm interested by this post, as I have been interested in hybrids and reading about them. I'll want to look more at and think about the info here.
One positive aspect of hybrids is that new technology is being implemented to reduce fuel use. It may not be great now, but the improvements and advancements of fuel-saving technology flow out of these early attempts. Consider where technology is now regarding mobile phones compared to where it was back in the early 80s. It's necessary to implement the technology in consumer products in order to create a demand for the technology that will further its development and advancement.
Hybrids: maybe not worth the expense yet, but the future of the technology will be built upon these uses of the technology as we have it now.
FWIW.
Posted by: JRR at June 3, 2005 1:47 AMI am in Italy, driving a Renault Megane diesel. On a recent trip to Germany, this little car, which rides very well, got 42 miles per gallon. And the diesel is quick to start, clean to run, and sprightly. Why can't I find a car like this in the States?
Posted by: Neal Kirkpatrick at June 3, 2005 3:47 AMJRR - You're comparing apples and oranges. This technology will never get much more efficient than it is now. It might get cheaper, but underlying thermodynamics limits how much more effficient it can get. It will never - repeat, never be as good as todays' diesels, which, BTW are a lot better than the diesels from the 80's and early 90's.
Neal - you can't find a car like that in the states, because they don't sell well. The closest thing you will find is one of the VW TDs.
Posted by: Dogbert at June 4, 2005 1:35 AM(c) Ravenwood and Associates, 1990 - 2014
