CNBC- Price for Hybrids is up, way up in some - GreenHybrid

gpsman1 · #1 (**permalink**) 05-10-2008, 07:28 AM

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Seven of the 10 hybrids on sale the last two months are selling at a higher price compared to the same time last year. Here's the list of transaction prices according to the Power Information Network.

Highlander Hybrid (up) $5,482

Saturn VUE Hybrid (Up) $3,261

Escape Hybrid (Up) $2,327

Mercury Mariner Hybrid (Up) $2,053

Lexus RX 400H (Up) $576

Toyota Prius (Up) $301

Nissan Altima Hybrid (Up) $ 78

According to Edmunds.com, the following five all take longer to "break even" than a year ago.

Toyota Highlander Hybrid: 12 years

Ford Escape Hybrid: 7.3 yrs

Saturn VUE: 7.1. Yrs

Mercury Mariner Hybrid: 6.4 Yrs.

Honda Civic Hybrid: 4.8 yrs

http://www.cnbc.com/id/24540478

bwilson4web · #2 (**permalink**) 05-10-2008, 09:10 AM

This is not the first nor the last time that Phil LeBeau has tried to dis-justify a hybrid based upon the purchase price versus the price of fuel. I'm not sure that it makes sense to try and smite him with a 'clue by four' but we can always try.

Quote:

Hi Phil,

Inflation plays a role that "... the latest data shows people buying most hybrids will take even longer to make up the "premium" or higher price they are paying compared to standard models ..." may be inaccurate. In 2001 when the first Prius were sold, gas was only $1.35/gal and this same old argument was brought out then. But today is 2008 and a significant portion of those 2001 Prius are still rolling around and gas is at $4.50/gal. Where is your congratulations to these pioneers who did the experiment and won.

The other consistent mistake is to assign one mileage for all cars per year. In fact, owners have a wide range of mileage per year, which looks a lot like a modified bell curve. It turns out that those in the upper third easily do enough miles to pay the hybrid premium. The best are taxi drivers who make out like bandits.

Finally, there is the resale price, which for hybrids reaches a lower limit and seems to stop. In contrast, the gas-only car soon become 'scrap metal' and those with poor mileage, even less.

Those of us who own hybrids are happy that we do and got them when we did. New hybrid owners are joining our ranks and over time, we're not seeing them move back to gas. As a suggestion, you might ask your sources to report the ratio of hybrid->gas and gas->hybrid ownership changes. I suspect you'll find the numbers are and historically have been one way.

Bob Wilson

Whiterook · #3 (**permalink**) 05-12-2008, 05:17 AM

I wonder what the "break even" time frame is on a Chevy Corvette? Or what about on a BMW Z5?

The folks at Edmunds just can't get it into their brains that some of us are as much motivated to buy a hybrid because of the latest technology as by the fuel efficiency's dollar value.
There's no difference between a Geek who's turned on by tech and a sports car freak who's turned on by a big motor and a racy looking chassis or a wealthy Don Trump type who's turned on by a Bentley.

The concept that for some of us a "lowly" Prius has emotional appeal seems totally lost on the numbskulls at Edmunds. But even worse, the people at Edmunds still persist in even getting the facts wrong about hybrid technology. And yet they bill themselves as "car people"; what a joke!

08FEH · #4 (**permalink**) 05-12-2008, 01:30 PM

Not a bad increase on the FEH, considering Roll stability and a larger, variable valve timing engine producing more HP and slightly better gas mileage.......

oops, they forgot that part.....

It's just more expensive cuz gas is,,,,,