> . . . the article claims that the Prius costs
> $3.25 per . . .

As gas reaches $3.25/gallon, Toyota has been selling more and more Prius:

16,737 - Nov. 07
13,158 - Oct. 07
12,494 - Sep. 07 (last month of Federal tax credit)

167,010 - Prius sold through Nov. 2007

115,563 - Prius sold in 2006


Where did the "$3.25 per" come from? Why CNW Marketing, of course, April, 2006, claiming a Prius lifetime cost of "$3.25 per mile". Looks like it wasn't terribly effective. There were no significant monthly declines in Prius sales after CNW Marketing's "Dust-to-Dust" came out. It is a spectacular marketing failure.

All it took was for Toyota to deliver enough Prius to meet demand and the data has three points showing what happened when Toyota delivered enough Prius to meet USA demand.

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.

...$3.25 per ...?

Totally bogus of course. I can operate my TCH for a lot less than that even with a reserve fund for battery replacement.

Six year life fully amortized to $0 at 20K miles per year.

Indirect Operating Costs:
Acquisition cost: 32K or about 26.6 cents/mile
Insurance: 1400/year or about 7 cents/mile
Licensing (Good in WA) $68/yr or .lt. 1 cent/mile
Battery Reserve ($3800/120K or about 3.2 cents/mile

Direct Operating Costs:
Fuel $3.50/gal @ 40 MPG (conserviative for me) or about 8.8 cents/mile
Service, incl. minor consumables Avg $200 @ 5K intervals = 4 cents/mile
Service, Major Consumables (Timing Belts, Tires, etc.) 6 cents per mile

Does not include garage or cleaning as I would need to do that for any car.

All of which gives approximately 56.6 cents per mile, even with the battery overhaul reserve and/or a battery pack swapout at 80Kmiles. I have tracked the costs from purchase, and so far I see no reason to change this model.

It is the ignorant among us that will eventually destroy us all.

I agree totally! The price of gas is going to go up and down. Buying a hybrid is not like buying a stock when the price is low and then selling it when it goes high. In my opinion. I am not concerned with what the price of gas is going to do.....i bought my Camry Hybrid as a LONG term solution to paying $45-60 for a fill-up( today's prices) as well as a commitment to doing something for the pollution i was expending into the air.