recouping additional cost for hybrids

How long before a Mercedes 65 AMG 12 cylinder pays for the gas-guzzlers tax?
How long does it take an f-350 to pay for itself?
How long does it take a luxury car to pay for the luxury premium?

I did not know we bought cars because they went up in value or paid for themselves with use.

 

Aren't the people, press, putting down the Hybrids, to make them less enticing for the low-income worker?

IOW, the majority of the cars out there, are worth well below 15k$. If you average by state or by province, the #1 car is the pickup truck, #2 is Honda civic (and similars).

Thus the top 3 people driving out there will NOT go out and buy a Hybrid, if they can only afford the payments on a 15K$ car.

I think that all responsible drivers that can afford Hybdrids should buy them. In some cases, the Prius is cheaper than an SUV.

Great example - two guys where I work - both bought GM SUV's, on sale brand new 15k$ plus taxes. Even including the extra 200$ a month they will spend on gas, it's cheaper than the Prius.
The SUV they bought is even cheaper than the average mini-van price.

Both of them don't have kids. So why the hell did they buy those?! Price ! :blink:
I freaked out at them (politely).
They would have been better off with a regular car for that price.

All they saw, was wow, that nice big thing for the same price as a well equipped Chevrolet Cavalier. Impact on the environment never crossed their mind.

The only way to get a Green Car below 20k$ is an all-electric. Most likely the In-Wheel EV. Zero transmission, zero gas motor. Offset's the battery cost and maintenance cost.

That's the car I wanted to buy - they exist with 250 mile rage, 120 mph - but you can't buy them yet. At least two years for Canada.

Like most families, I will always have two cars. Nirvana would be one all-electric and one Hybrid / PHEV.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mark Derail @ Sep 25 2006, 04:06 PM) [snapback]324845[/snapback]</div>

What SUV can you buy for $15K? Even the cute utes seem to cost more than that.

 

Dealers are selling the low-end SUVs below cost to make room for the 2007 models,

and

the very slow sales recently of SUV's.

Some dealers rather cut a 2k - 3k loss than be stuck with inventory. What they (co-workers) told me.

I told them now they will have to put up with my clean-grafitti on their trucks. B)

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bob Allen @ Sep 18 2006, 10:26 AM) [snapback]321207[/snapback]</div>

My best guess is because the unwashed masses assume that the ONLY reason the Prius is purchased is to save money at the pump.

I bought a 25mpg $40k Volvo, and nobody questioned that purchase. I then bought a 50mpg $26k Prius, and suddenly I'm an idiot for spending so much money that I'll never get back at the pump.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mark Derail @ Sep 25 2006, 04:06 PM) [snapback]324845[/snapback]</div>

Your point's well taken, but over the life of a car (call it 10 years), that's another $24,000 in additional fuel costs. So in the long run, even at that dirt-cheap $15K (before taxes), the SUV was not the cheaper choice. Lot of people only focus on the monthly payment but that's not the way to keep costs down. Of course, if you want to keep costs down, you don't buy a new car, either.