How many times have you heard the argument that it's only worth buying a hybrid once the price of gas gets to X....

When I first bought my hybrid, the price for regular was $1.20. Guess what everybody said back then? When the price of gas gets to $2.00 it will be worth it, until then you are better off buying some crappy car for a lot less. Then $2.00 came and went, and those same people said, ah.... ok not $2.00 but $3.00, yeah that's it. Well hellllllo america, it's $3.00 plus.

I can already hear that group saying, when it reaches $4.00, yeah $4.00 then it will be worth it. Meanwhile I'm laughing all the way to the bank. haha.

 

Well, I think it is having a LITTLE bit of an effect....Hybrid sales in August were 23,307 which is an all time monthly high for USA Hybrid sales....maybe SOME of the smart people like us are catching on at least !!!

 

Re: “How many times have you heard the argument that it's only worth buying a hybrid once the price of gas gets to X....”

Well, this argument always disturbs me. It assumes that the rationale for buying a hybrid is entirely self-serving and solely economic. Some of us think we have a civic duty (excuse the pun) to conserve fuel and improve the environment. Now more than ever that’s the case.

It’s funny. One rarely sees the same logical economic constraints applied to Hummers or Expeditions. “It’s only worth buying one if you have a full load of passengers,” or the like. Actually, most of them I see on the road are single-occupant vehicles.

 

I must admit, my move from 19 MPG to my HCH was purely a move related to $$$. (gas along with breaks and tires) My move had nothing to do with 'green'.

The free market place is driving the move to hybrids and that's a good thing. As a result of the disaster in the deep South, maybe (as a country) will get serious about taking the handcuffs off domestic oil production while doing more to encourage the purchase of high milage autos. My feeling is that our energy woes need to be approached from a variety of angles. And giving the chance, a free moving marketplace will help drive the effort. That, combined with reasonable policy changes on the local and national level would go a long way.
Thoughts?

 

Im not saving a whole lot of money per month, but the savings in gas over driving my other vehicles pays for the car payment and then some.

So instead of giving my money to the oil companies, im spending it twards a car, that will be worth something in say 2-3 years.

 

Not only the price of gas - but the lack of gas - makes me happy I have a Hybrid and work from home. Already there are stories of gas stations running out of gas in the valley, though I think some of it is being caused by panic.

 

Hi Brian,

Free marketplace? There is no such thing. One of my history professors used to say that there was free enterprise for a brief period of time in the Netherlands many many years ago, but it has been a myth ever since. Reasonable policy? Don’t count on it any time soon.

 

So,
With all the news about short fuel supply you would think a light bulb would turn on and people would slow down on the highways. On my 200 mile trip home from vacation (which I drove about 52ish the whole way) I only came across one car that was cruising in the right lane. I was going faster then them and I would have drafted to help them out but my peak speed was about 52 or so and they were going about 3mph slower which would have made me lose a bit of mileage trying to keep behind them. (I should have flagged them over and told them to up the tire pressure).

My 200 mile trip neted me 59.4mpg with 2 adults, 2 kids and cargo filling every other space in the car.

I emplore you all that say you can't drive slow because you will get run over on your highway to do drive 50-55. People will go around you. Don't use that argument that a little old lady died because some car came up on her too fast and couldn't stop either. What about those kids that go 80 or 90 and run into someone going 75? Just because you can come up with an exception to the rule doesn't mean going 50-55 is realy as dangerous as you think. It has to start somewhere. Be the one to start the trend.

Gas prices aren't going down. World wide demand for oil will keep the prices high even if demand in the US drops. The only way to save money is by YOU changing your habbits.

 

I have a friend who improved his gas mileage by about 30% in his large Ford F250, just by going 65 (the speed limit) instead of 80 on his travels from Sacramento, CA, down to the Fresno area.

Just imagine how much oil our country would save if people went 65 MPH instead of 80 on our highways and interstates. It's truly astounding.