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Hybrids Dominate Vincentric's Best Value in

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by Tideland Prius, Jan 17, 2006.

  1. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Michigan – January 17, 2006 – Vincentric’s Best Value in America™ awards were announced today, with hybrid vehicles leading the way. The Toyota Prius, along with the hybrid versions of the Ford Escape, the Honda Civic, and the Toyota Highlander each won the Best Value in America™ award in their segment. Other hybrids receiving Excellent Value ratings are the Mercury Mariner hybrid, the Lexus RX400h, and the Honda Insight.

    To determine Vincentric’s Best Value in America™, Vincentric analyzed over 1,800 different vehicle configurations and computed the cost to own and operate each vehicle. Eight different cost factors were calculated to determine overall Cost of Ownership: depreciation, fuel, insurance, opportunity cost, financing, maintenance, taxes and state fees, and repairs.

    Using a statistical model, the company identified the Best Value in Americaâ„¢ by measuring which vehicles have a lower than expected ownership cost given their market segment and price. The strong value of hybrids was clear when both a hybrid and non-hybrid version of the same vehicle were compared to other vehicles in the same segments. In those instances, the hybrid version had ownership costs that averaged 16.2% lower than a similarly priced competitor, while the non-hybrid version had ownership costs 7.9% lower.

    “Hybrids benefited from three main factorsâ€, stated David Wurster, President of Vincentric. “First was their strong fuel economy ratings, resulting in lower fuel costs for these vehicles. Second was their strong residual values due to high demand, resulting in lower depreciation costs. And third was the federal tax credit that went into effect this year. This combination of factors creates extremely strong value for consumers.â€

    Including the Prius and Highlander hybrid, Toyota had eleven Best Value in Americaâ„¢ awards, with Honda also faring well with six winners.

    In addition to the annual Best Value in Americaâ„¢ awards, Vincentric compiles updated results each month to incorporate current fuel prices, manufacturer rebates and incentives, interest rates and residual values.

    The categories and the winners of Vincentric’s Best Value in America™ for the 2006 model year are listed below. In addition, a synopsis of each winner is available at vincentric.com

    Full List of Winners at The Auto Channel
     
    #1 Tideland Prius, Jan 17, 2006
  2. tideland_raj

    tideland_raj New Member

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    Hells yeah. For ANYONE who claims that "hybrid markup is not worth it". Time the American Consumer talks about TCO. Prius owners preach it, the thrifty japanese-car consumer gets it, but your american car-buying fools are yet to get the message.

    And for those non-hybrid owners who want to talk TCO, we now have somewhere to point them. Sweet.

    Just a minor nitpick with the site/study... since it's based on economy, it should have categories that are a bit lower than the splits you see... for example, what about cars under $13,000 list? Also I can't seem to find the TCO for the 2006 Prius.
     
    #2 tideland_raj, Jan 19, 2006
  3. jeromep

    jeromep Member

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    On anything that depreciates over time TCO is the only way to evaluate its value or cost. Resale value is meaningless, and turning cars every 5 years because you want somethign new is very money foolish.
     
    #3 jeromep, Jan 19, 2006
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