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As a man thinks, so he is. Some people are never. Recent Posts
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CarSpace Alternate RouteTurn off the nav system, crumple up that MapQuest printout, and let's find out where the next random turn may take us! Sep 22, 2007 - Boon or Bane?
The story points out that "the average gas mileage of hybrid models available in the U.S. is 33 miles per gallon (combined city and highway). But Chevy's newest Silverado hybrid truck gets only 16 mpg. The newest Lexus LS 600h L hybrid sedan clocks in at 21 mpg, the 2007 Saturn Vue hybrid at 26 mpg." A J.D. Power study cited in the article found that "buyers expected hybrids to gain 18.5 mpg over similar non-hybrid vehicles." As much as hybrid enthusiasts want to ignore the "hybrid premium", the decision to purchase a hybrid for many doesn't come down to whether or not someone wants to "go green", but how much of their green it's going to cost. Many hybrid owners do squeeze astronomical mileage numbers out of their hybrids using hypermiling techniques, but setting those aside, and ignoring those people who drive like maniacs and complain that their hyrbid doesn't perform as advertised, you can sift through the real world mileage discussions on the CarSpace forums and find folks who are simply driving their vehicles to get a feel for the kind of mileage performance you might get in your average daily driving. Average Prius owners, for example, seem to be reporting combined driving mileage numbers of 48-50mpg. Price on the base 2007 Prius is $22,175. Price on my base 2007 Versa that I purchased in February was $13,675, and I'm getting 33mpg in combined driving. That puts me right in the range of that 18.5 mpg difference that buyers expect hybrids to get over similar non-hybrid vehicles. The Prius and Versa would seem to be vehicles of a similar class with regard to form and function. If my past driving habits continue, I'll be driving it about 10,000 miles per year and using roughly 303 gallons of gasoline. Had I purchased a Prius and was getting 50mpg, I could expect to use only 200 gallons over the course of a year, saving me 103 gallons of gas annually. Using $4/gallon gas prices to give me even more incentive to choose a hybrid, that's $412 per year still in my pocket. Price difference between the cars is $8500. You know the math. That's over 20 years to break even. And even the most loyal hybrid advocate doesn't expect that the hybrid battery pack won't have to be replaced in that length of time. Normal maintenance and wear and tear is going to be the same for both, so that's a wash. So other than to feel good about myself or tell people how much smarter I am than they are, where's my incentive to buy? Premium hybrid
Aug 15, 2007 - Speed Bump Day
One other item to mention about my recent visit to the Edmunds offices... I'm basically an East Coast guy. That means I grew up with the understanding that the streets are for the cars, and you watch out for yourself when venturing into their domain. Where this California notion comes from that you can just step out in front of traffic and they're going to stop is beyond me. So I'm wandering the streets of Santa Monica, trying to fit in. And I finally get the hang of stepping out in front of cars in the crosswalk and not giving away my amazement that cars are actually stopping while I continue on my tour of local watering holes, except for... The Prius Hordes of Wilshire Boulevard. You want to keep the planet green? Try not to spill my blood, please!
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