Featured Justify a hybrid

Another hole to poke in the report is the cost of gas, which really should be based on an average of the past 5 years, not today's current gas prices, which are historically low. 15k miles a year * 5 miles is 75k miles. For the Malibu they estimate the gas cost at $5900. As the car gets 27mpg EPA combined, working backwards this works out to 2778 gallons over 5 years or $2.12 a gallon. However if you look at the past 5 years, the average price of gas is about $3/gallon. Obviously $2.12 versus a $3 historic average significantly favors non-hybrids.

 

same guy will write the same article when gas is 4 bucks a gallon, but exactly the opposite. 'all the news that fits'.

 

The real kicker is that many people will spend a ton more money on things that actually make a car less fuel efficient and are simply over-priced luxuries. Cases in point: fancy sound systems, sunroofs, interior and exterior trim packages, upgraded wheels, etc.

My Two stickered at $24,500. You can find a loaded Prius for well over $30,000. I suggest that the cost of a car is irrelevant. Otherwise everyone would get the base model of the most economical car to own that holds its value.

 

Well in the UK Toyota sells hybrid and non-hybrid Yaris and hybrid and non-hybrid Auris. The cheapest non-hybrid automatic Yaris costs £15265 while the hybrid costs £14995. (Hybrid premium -£270) The cheapest non-hybrid automatic Auris seems to be £19995 while the hybrid Auris can be had for £20345. (Hybrid premium £350). These cars came out in the 2012 model year, so they represent Toyota technology 5 model years ago. The non-hybrid Auris uses 42% more fuel than the hybrid which in turn uses 20% more than the 2016 Prius [spritmonitor]. No hybrid premium here IMO.

For whatever reason, iM US sales in Aug 2016 were less than 14% of US Prius sales. It is not a serious competitor at this time. The real competitors are the Focus Hatchback, Elantra GT, Mazda3 Sport, Forte5, Impreza and 4dr Golf. The 2016 Prius is cost-competitive with these vehicles when configured similarly and when operating costs for the average driver are considered as I said in my original post.

 

The large majority of Europeans buy manuals. HSD being automatic only is actually counted against it there. The uptake of hybrids there is tiny compared to the US, and the US is small compared to Japan. Regional price differences is more than the cost to make and deliver.

The Prius is a great value when the ownership costs are considered, but saving money on fuel or depreciation doesn't mean there isn't a premium on the purchase price. Unfortunately, many people buy just on the MSRP or what the monthly payment will be.

 

haven't read up on it lately - but i thought the majority used public transportation -.

 

But those wouldn't be car shopping.

 

Yep - it's just such a shame we can't compete with many other nations in that regard ... but that's our mindset
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Regarding hybrid math, I'll use this opportunity to repeat my prediction of less than $1/gal gaso cost in some places by Feb_2017.

I am expecting as low as $10-$15 crude price at the minimum. I follow the economist Gary Shilling on these crude oil price predictions. We got down to about $1.30 in the lowest areas last winter.

Pretty amazing when you consider the mininum Fed+State gaso tax is around 34 cents say in NJ.

 

Yet our Fed's refuses to use the opportunity to significantly raise fuel taxes - that kind of boost could aid everything from public transportation, to infrastructure, to clean tech advancement etc - and gas would still be cheep. lt's like the folks who are adicted/ using Crack ... the 1st few hits are the cheapest. Worry about tomorrow sometime down the road

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Here is a rather timely study by MIT.
It shows the Prius doing quite well.

New MIT app: check if your car meets climate targets | Dana Nuccitelli | Environment | The Guardian

I should note, the graph shows CO2 emissions (both direct & indirect) charted against cost.

 

Well many states except mine have been increasing gaso tax to the point CA is no longer No. 1 I think PA is No.1 It might be instructive to have a chart of total average tax per gal vs. date but I don't think I've ever seen anything like that.

 

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PS- My $1 prediction is looking shaky today (OPEC "agreement") but I stick to it until further notice. Possibly the timing could shift but the fundamental concept is OPEC is too weak to make price controls work, due to fracking etc but also Brexit and other slumping growth.

 

My 2 cents, If the oil price drops much below $40, most of the higher cost to produce (e.g. fracking) sources will have to shut down. This will lower supply. If the oil price goes much above $50, the fracking sources will multiply and drive the price down. So I believe that we are stuck in a price range for the foreseeable future. Ain't technology wonderful?

JeffD

 

With cheap oil, there may be more land barge buyers that might otherwise move to a hybrid. But who knows for certain how long OPEC can continue overproducing. Who knows for certain whether the vast amount of fracking rigs that are continuing to be shut down are because they're played out - or weather they can't produce per barrel at the cheaper OPEC rate. Fracking costs have gotten so cheap - there's no way to have certainty. Only the insiders of the industry can say for certain - and if it were a dry up - I can't imagine they'd be too forthcoming. Can this card game go on much longer?
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Much of the reason for the lower prices is because the Saudis are over producing. One of the reasons is order to hurt non-traditional petroleum production. This is the higher cost to produce tar sands, shale oil(tight oil), etc.

Shale in the Unites States
Shale oil production took a dive when they flooded the market with ME oil, and wells have been shutting down.

 

Gas will go up again. It's inevitable. That's why I have already purchased 2 Prii for my family and will soon have a 3rd.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

I'm squarely in the "cheapest car" camp, but having owned a Chevy Cavalier in the past it's possible I haven't figured out the "that holds its value" part

Also, one of the things I liked about the Prius are the relatively high profile tires that look like they can withstand a pothole or two. Our previous Mazda3 had the 17" wheels (only option on the hatchback at the time) which hated potholes, and we paid for it in tire and strut replacements.

 

For a "Base" model, the Prius Two is surprisingly well equipped (makes me wonder what a Prius "One" would be like...), the luxuries offered on the other trims are frivolous, imo, you don't need a Navigation package when you have Google Maps on your phone, and I always leave a huge cushion between me and other drivers to not need the TSS package. [EDIT] Wow...TSS-P comes standard now on 2017 models.

If you're a budget minded shopper, that $6K of savings will buy you a ton of gas, on top of all the gas savings you're already getting