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Fully satisfied Hybid owner here (Mercury Mariner 2008). It doubled the gas mileage of my other vehicle and halved the frequency required for oil changed from every 3500 miles to every 7500 miles. In a larger older SUV Iwas getting an average of 15 mpg. With this hybrid I get 34 mpg city/30 mpg hwy. I managed to negotiate a decent "deal" on it and in 5K more miles it will effectively start paying me back.
I thhnik that might have just changed as far as hybrids and recovery of cost. All asuch things are at first very high as is solar etc. The release of the Prius C at less than 19K might just chnage that. Its out sold the Volt and Leaf in tweo months with 165,000 aqdditonal odered. It persoanlly does not match my needs but I think its the first afforasble to mostwithout any taxbreak and its from a compnay weith the most experience.The real problem with wiode sporead use is the battery problem as we already have a dispoasl problem with rechargeables.The the demand for rare earth used i eklctric motors is a growig problem as well has the environmantal problems of mining enough. Electric wide spread will have environmental problems.
I don't know much about the battery issue other than just basic awareness of it. Are the batteries in hybrids and electrics the same? What rare metals are used in the electric motors?
I have a Honda Insight hybrid. I like it and I would definitely buy another hybrid again. I like that it's not using as much fuel and it's great for long road trips. I think that as more people drive them, and there are more models available, the prices on the entry-level hybrids will come down. For me, the only turn-off with hybrids is the small size and the lack of towing capacity (i.e enough to tow a small camper). But over time as the technology improves, perhaps there will be more medium sized hybrids available.
I don't know much about the battery issue other than just basic awareness of it. Are the batteries in hybrids and electrics the same? What rare metals are used in the electric motors?
but who knows where the Prius batteries will actually end up.
Li being a relatively expensive element, I would think that the batteries should have a high core-charge. Since we have a high unemployment rate, I imagine that most of them will be discarded in junkyards and landfills rather than turning them in for cash.
That is what happens to copper right?
The unemployed rip copper wiring and plumbing from foreclosed on homes so they can discard it in landfills, don't they?
A $30,000 car, spread out over 6 years of payments, is going to cost you $500 per month in payments.
Granted, dealers will spin things a lot of ways. They'll say they're giving you this, and giving you that. And a lot of people believe them. But when all the smoke and mirrors are removed, you're stuck paying for a $30,000 car.
Shoot, in my state, just the sales tax & first year's license on that car will run close to $3,000 - which is $250 per month for that first year.
No matter how they spin it, it all adds up to a heckuva lot of money!
A $30,000 car, spread out over 6 years of payments, is going to cost you $500 per month in payments.
Granted, dealers will spin things a lot of ways. They'll say they're giving you this, and giving you that. And a lot of people believe them. But when all the smoke and mirrors are removed, you're stuck paying for a $30,000 car.
Shoot, in my state, just the sales tax & first year's license on that car will run close to $3,000 - which is $250 per month for that first year.
No matter how they spin it, it all adds up to a heckuva lot of money!
Good point.
I had not thought about how much it would be without a trade-in.
I had not thought about how much it would be without a trade-in.
One of the things I tried VERY hard to get my own kids to see, is the actual cost of owning/operating a vehicle. It's astounding.
One of the worst parts of it is that, except for extremely rare situations, a vehicle never does anything but DECLINE in value. And if you always spend your money on things that decline in value, you'll always be poor.
...at least that's my way of making myself feel better about the fact that I drive crap.
Prius sales are still incredibly strong. Lumping the Honda Civic hybrid in the the Prius hurts the whole category.
You didn't read the article very thoroughly. It talks about repeat buyers. Even if Prius sales are strong now, that doesn't mean these are repeat buys nor will they buy another hybrid. I think there are very few repeat Prius buyers because the car is new enough that turnover hasn't really begun in a large scale.
The article asserts that hybrid owners might not buy another hybrid. Since the most popular hybrid by far is the Prius the data suggests Prius owners won't buy another hybrid. If they did, they would probably buy a Toyota.
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