Right now I drive a Volvo 850 and get low to mid-20s MPG. I plan to make my next car a hybrid, possibly the Toyota Prius if I can live with the seats (I have a bad back, so that is a touchy issue for me, no pun intended). I am assuming that it is environmentally wiser to drive my car into the ground then buy a new hybrid. If I sell the Volvo and buy a hybrid now, someone else will just be driving the Volvo, and the enviromental cost of making the new car that I would buy I assume offsets the benefit of my driving a hybrid. Am I missing anything?

Hi,
'When" varies from case to case. I was planning on a hybrid when an accident forced my decision early. Given family finances, a used 2003 Prius has really worked out well.

A couple of quick points:

• You are not going to get a 'bill' addressed to you to pay XYZ - the lifecycle cost is built into the system and your individual actiions will not change that. If you feel strongly about minizing the car's environmental impact, drive it to a salvage yard and ask them to 'make it parts.' That will keep someone elses Volvo running a bit longer, the same effect you were thinking about.
• Most of the 'lifecycle' cost has already been paid (my understanding from those who make 'dust-to-dust' studies) - you can amortizie it over a longer period by keeping the Volvo on the road. However, the absolute dollar amount has already been paid.
• Hybrid technology is improvinig - the NHW20 Prius gets +3MPG over the NHW11 Prius, like my 2003 car. Now I am willing and able to 'tweak' my NHW11 Prius to get hypermiler status. Some of my planned modifications may bring into NHW20 hypermiler range. But then, I'm a hybrid hot-rodder.

There are more hybrid electrics coming but it still remains a 'seller's market.' That means the prices are higher than for a simular gas technology car. Some of the Lexus hybrids look very comfortable and we haven't seen the Camry hybrid, yet. But there comes a time when replacing the Volvo makes sense. That is something you'll have to figure out.

GOOD LUCK!
Bob Wilson

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You make a very good point. I guess if you trade your volvo now, the next person to drive it would probably drive it as long as you would have, had you not traded it in. Its continued CO2 emissions will make a contribution to our environ woes. But, it will eventually get recycled and its contribution to the environ will be done. In the meantime, you would have been driving a greener car and contributing less to the CO2 problem vs buying another non-hybrid. Eventually, most people will be driving greener vehicles so the sooner the old ones bite the dust the better. As far as the materials used to make the car, all cars are mfg'd in a similar manner out of similar materials so that is a non issue (hybrid batteries excluded, as they are recycled as well). Then there's the neighbor that burns all his yard waste....that has to be much worse for the local environment than building a car...I believe it's what comes out of the tailpipe/mile/gallons of fuel consumed that matters the most, as most people will be driving a lot of miles.

I think that if you are ready for a new car then you should go ahead and start the process. It may take some time to find a car to your liking since it is an in-demand model which will become even scarcer as fuel prices increase this summer. I see only one economic benefit to waiting, which is that it is certainly cheaper for you to hang on to your Volvo until it turns to dust (up to a point). Since it's paid off and well depreciated your only real expenses are putting fuel in it, insuring it, and repairing it. My wager is that it would only be more expensive than a new Prius if it is in horrendous shape with parts falling off of it daily (which I doubt). That might mean more time to save up cash for a larger down payment.

In short, do what makes the most sense for you. The Volvo is old enough that the big picture won't be influenced too much by the timing of its replacement.

Another thing to think about, if you plan on waiting a year or so and not running your car into the ground, you'll probably want to sell it. At that point there will be many more hybrid's on the road so the inital hybrid cost will come down like with all technology, however at this point no one will want a regular gas vehicle and any value that might have been retained for the Volvo will become of low worth. For example, " why would I buy a used Volvo when I can buy a used hybrid that gets great fuel mileage and good for the environment".

I know it's probably not inline with what you're thinking but if you wait much longer, you probably won't get the 2006 tax credit associated with the Prius. If you opt for a Honda, you can probably wait a while longer.

Support the Troops - Drive a Hybrid!

Why the difference?

Becase honda doesn't plan to sell 60K hybrids where toyota will probably sell them by mid year. After like 60K the credit sticks around for another quarter and then starts decreasing.

My hydroponics experiment

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"Crazy is what the sane call Delta Flyer"

Thanks!