Hybrid autos save money in long run

Duh! 13

hybrid carAs if it were news, a report by Intellichoice.com found that over a five-year span, the owner of a Prius saves more than $13,000 compared to the owner of a similar non-hybrid.

In fact, the savings apply "across the board," to all 22 hybrids evaluated. What's more, the study was the most inclusive of any yet: It factored in insurance, fuel, taxes, maintenance, and the works.

Read it to believe it, but it just confirms what many of us have been saying for years.

Joseph Romm is the editor of Climate Progress and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.

Related Stories

Advertisement
Advertisement
  1. Biodiversivist's avatar

    Biodiversivist Posted 12:01 pm
    16 Feb 2007

    Jeeze, $13K is the price of a Scion xBIt is probably more like $8,000 without government subsidies. They are also accounting for the high resale value of a Prius, which will go down now that supply is catching up with demand.
    Also, I think Consumer Reports put out a correction.

    In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world

    Permalink

  2. A Siegel Posted 2:02 pm
    16 Feb 2007

    Wow ...these numbers are FAR more impressive than anything that I hoped for.
    And, this does not deal at all with the issue of non-fiscal benefits. (Cache of driving a hybrid, quiet ride, positive feeling for polluting less, etc ...).
    Problem is that the nation focuses so intensely on the purchase price ... and it is so difficult to get Americans to even consider what it will cost to run for year, let alone five.
    Now, by the way, I'd been hearing that the hybrids resale wasn't so great and that they were theft targets (for parts).  Hmmm... is that false RUMINT???

    Permalink

  3. amazingdrx Posted 12:01 am
    17 Feb 2007

    Well?Going to plugin hybrids would boost mileage well over 100 mpg and save real money for an actual payback on your investment.  That would save gas and cO2, justifying a tax credit for buying one.
    Hybrid buyers  and the environmental movement is being used by current hybrid technology.  Used to make automakers look green without curtailing much GHG.
    Hybrids were a nice start to revolutionizing transportation energy, but it's enough already.  Automakers need to move on to serial plugin hybrids.
    Or at least plugin the original flawed paralell hybrids.  Toyota will void your Prius waranty if you install a plugin kit from Calcars or some other source.

    http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

    Permalink

  4. A Siegel Posted 4:14 am
    17 Feb 2007

    RE AmazingDRX ...Not sure that I agree with the "being used", when it comes to the better hybrids, but definitely with the thought/sentiment that they are stepping stones to PHEVs.
    What I would like:


    Lightweighted vehicle (along lines of RMI's Hypercar concept)
    Plug-In, Serial Hybrid
    GEM flex fuel


    With that, we are starting to get somewhere.
    And, by the way, since I have kids, I really would love to have that in a minivan ...

    Permalink

  5. Natural Patriot Posted 6:03 am
    17 Feb 2007

    But should I trade in?Promising news, this.  If I were on the market for a new car I would get a Prius (since the plugins are not yet available and I am too lazy to haunt the local fast food joint for biodiesel). So here's a practical question:  My wife has been trying for a year to convince me to trade in our (very heavy 6-cylinder) Camry for a Prius.  I am sympathetic and would like to do so, but our Camry is less than 3 years old.  My suspicion has been that trading it in for a new Prius amounts to having a whole new car added to planet earth after only 2-3 years of active service for the old one. My gut feeling (which is no more informed than that) is that this would be a net detriment to the global environment. I would be very interested in a reputable analysis of the costs and benefits such a tradein.

    Permalink

  6. Biodiversivist's avatar

    Biodiversivist Posted 9:10 am
    17 Feb 2007

    Another way to look at it , PatriotThe US population is growing at about 3 million a year. Most will get their own car. Most will get a used one, yours or someone else's. It all seems rather hopeless when you account for the fact that we have the third largest population in the world and the fastest growing one of the industrialized nations.

    In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world

    Permalink

  7. Pathos Posted 11:13 am
    17 Feb 2007

    Natural PatriotIt's actually not as hard a choice as it sounds.  (And don't be so pessimistic, BioD; it's bizarrely satisfying, but it gets nothing done. :)
    I seem to remember Umbra saying at one point that 90% of a vehicle's environmental impact comes from operation.  Meaning, the environmental impact of purchasing a new car (i.e., causing one more car to be built and eventually disposed of) is nothing compared to the benefit of getting a substantially more fuel-efficient one.  (Someone else is going to have to find that column, and correct me if I got the statistic wrong, because let's face it, I'm lazy.)
    As for the fact that someone is, of course, going to end up driving your old car...  The fact is, that person was going to be driving something, anyway, and probably not a hybrid.  But by empowering that person to buy your used vehicle, you're potentially stopping the sale of a new Camry.  (Probably not to that person, who was probably going to buy used, anyway, but somewhere along the line, it all adds up.)  Which means you're giving Toyota less incentive to build Camries--one car's worth of incentive less, anyway--and more incentive to build Priuses.  If people keep trading their Camries for Priuses, they will get the message.
    In fact, they're getting it already.  Toyota is building far more Priuses this year than last year, and from what I've read, they're hardly the only auto company making that shift.  Which means supporting the movement can only help.
    So, yeah.  Buy the Prius.  It'll do good, I promise.  :)

    Permalink

  8. spaceshaper's avatar

    spaceshaper Posted 2:39 am
    18 Feb 2007

    Coupla pertinent quotes from UmbraCertainly Umbra is a long-time a Prius supporter, but note also the following:

    And while we're at it with the word problems, why did I say a 2002 Prius? Because you shouldn't buy a new car. New objects require that new materials be mined and forged and new toxins be spewn about.
    Question. Which is better: Diesel? Biodiesel? Straight vegetable oil? Hybrid?
    Answer. They're all bad. Stop driving!

    The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.

    Permalink

  9. spaceshaper's avatar

    spaceshaper Posted 3:55 am
    18 Feb 2007

    And by the way,this is probably what you were thinking of in Umbra's archive, Pathos:
    "I've seen a 15 percent manufacturing/85 percent driving environmental impact breakdown"
    This was in June 2002. However Umbra does not cite a reference and there is no indication that disposal cost is considered. True lifecycle impact analyses are not easy to come by: here's one based on a 1999 Saturn which corresponds roughly to Umbra's 15/85 split on energy: but note the situation with overall toxic emissions!
    http://www.ilea.org/lcas/macleanlave1998.html
    Here's another comparing different energy sources: note that the hybrid's ratio is more like 25/75
    http://www.ilea.org/lcas/taharaetal2001.html
    Note also that the numbers are based on average lifetime/average use. For a low mileage user a Prius might consume half its total lifetime energy use in manufacture, maintenance and disposal. This is not in itself a bad thing but should perhaps figure in a personal buying decision.

    The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.

    Permalink

  10. Pathos Posted 8:07 am
    18 Feb 2007

    Re: spaceshaperWow.  You certainly do your homework.  That's cool.  And kudos on giving what Natural Patriot what he actually asked for, which was a reputable analysis.  (Not that I'm implying that Umbra is not reputable or anything. :)
    Now, the thing about those studies is, they still speak better for the Prius.  The first one does give the caveat that building the car produces about the same amount of toxic emissions as using it (which, standing alone, would be a good argument for not getting a new car).  However, toxic emissions do NOT include CO2, and probably at least some other other greenhouse gases.  And as everyone from Al Gore to Umbra to Minnie Mouse has said, fighting global warming is by far the most important environmental task of this age.  And, as this study confirms, for cars, energy use--which DOES correlate directly to GHG emissions--from operation far outweighs that of manufacture.  In fact, in the last paragraph, they say that they consider energy use to be a better gauge of environmental impact than toxic emissions.
    (Okay, I don't think Minnie Mouse has actually said anything on the subject.  If she did, her position would probably hinge on whether she secretly finds Donald Duck attractive, since warmer weather would probably encourage him to keep not wearing pants.  But that has nothing to do with anything; the point is: GREENHOUSE GASES BAD.)
    These people also seem to be of the opinion that the impact of disposal isn't high enough to be worth considering, next to manufacture and use.  I wouldn't have thought that, but it's certainly interesting.
    And, yes, the second study indicates that for a hybrid, the ratio is slightly higher.  However, this is pretty clearly because a hybrid uses about the same amount of energy to make, and WAY THE #$%!! LESS to drive.  By the graph in that article, the total energy use of hybrid is less than two thirds that of a regular gasoline car.  In fact, even when you completely remove the manufacture of a gasoline car, so you're considering the total impact of the hybrid vs. just that of driving your current car--making a new hybrid and driving it still uses less energy.
    So, all in all, Natural Patriot, I think you're pretty clearly better off ditching the Camry and getting the Prius.  And yeah, if you want, buy a used one; it nixes the manufacturing impact, and it will almost certainly save you money.  (Check the miles per gallon on an older model vs. the mpg of a new one, though.  Just in case.)

    Permalink

  11. Nucbuddy Posted 9:27 am
    18 Feb 2007

    Conclusions based upon missing informationPathos wrote: all in all, Natural Patriot, I think you're pretty clearly better off ditching the Camry and getting the Prius.
    How many miles per year does Natural Patriot drive?

    Permalink

  12. Natural Patriot Posted 1:54 am
    19 Feb 2007

    Thanks for the analysis!Thanks, everyone, for the informed discussion onthe dilemma of when to go hybrid.  My wife will be happy to hear that she was right about this (I thought about calling "car talk" but probably wouldn't have been able to get through.  And who knows whether those guys could offer this kind of advice?).
    I love this site!

    Permalink

  13. mihan's avatar

    mihan Posted 3:24 am
    20 Feb 2007

    Ca' tawkOne of the things I love about the car talk guys is their propensity for telling people they shouldn't be driving (the people who drive in Manhattan, Boston, etc.)
    Also, they're funny.

    Permalink

Add a Comment

You are not logged in. Thus, you cannot post a comment. If you have an account, log in. If you don't have an account, well, by all means go make one! Meet you back here in five.

Hello, Visitor!    Why not register?

Viewed
More
Commented
More
Advertisement