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Originally Posted by 03142992
A few very successful petrol/electric hybrid cars have been successfully launched in recent years. The Toyota Prius is the most well-known example. However, it is not clear that they are being sold at a profit.
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There is a
CNN article about the history of Prius that ". . . Japan lost money on the first batch--not unusual for a small car. . . ." Since then, the demand has exceeded the supply and they are making money.
Last year, the local Toyota dealer put me on a 6-month waiting list to let me pay $3,500 over retail price for the next Prius. They called me six weeks later and said,"We have one coming in next week and the first customer who come in with $1,000 cash . . ."
Let me suggest you repeat the experiment with your local Toyota dealer. Don't take my word for it, see if you can get a discount price
under the Toyota suggested retail price for a Prius. Do you honestly believe Toyota today is selling Prius at a loss?
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Originally Posted by 03142992
What conditions are needed for “the typical motorist” to find this type of car a better buy than an ordinary petrol or diesel engined car? . . .
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In 2001, we looked at the Prius and the Echo and based upon the price of gas and purchase price, bought the Echo. In 2005, we had to replace our 91, manual transmission, Camry and we bought an 03 Prius with 49,300 miles for $17,300 . . . and laughed all the way to the bank.
The average US cars gets ~24 MPG but I'm getting over 48 MPG and drive about 1,000 miles per month. Do the math with your local gasoline prices. But it looks like I'll pay off the hybrid premium in less than a year (not much of premium on a used car that gets
NO government incentive.)
Owning a Prius, I've come to realize the real advantage is a completely drive-by-wire car. Ordinary cars, gas or diesel, could have a significant MPG improvement
IF they also were fully drive-by-wire. But they are burdened by energy wasting brakes and simple but inefficient control systems. My hybrid electric has one latent but not fully exploited advantage over gas and desel vehicles . . . the ability to plug-in to the grid.
Recently, I did a cost per BTU analysis of gasoline, natural gas and electricity only to discover electricity is a significantly better buy in the Tennesse valley. Given the relatively high efficiency of battery storage, a 'plug-in' Prius may be in our future. My Scotish and Welsh heritage demands it.
BTW, please do not construe this as any slight of the Honda or Ford hybrid electrics. They are excellent vehicles in their own right. The Hondas have fewer hybrid parts and the Ford Escape a much larger and spacious vehicle. One should choose a vehicle based upon their individual requirements. For our family, a used, 03 Prius was the optimum solution.
Bob Wilson