Tech with a twist of lime! & FLHybrid Club.

Consumer Reports, Reports : 3/3

For consumers who believe that gas/electric hybrid vehicles will save them money, the picture hasn't been so clear. Hybrid vehicles are more fuel efficient and produce lower emissions than conventional gasoline-only vehicles.

Most current models of hybrids also score well in Consumer Reports' testing and are highly rated in CR's annual reliability and owner satisfaction surveys. But do hybrid vehicles really hold the potential to save the consumer money over the long haul?

To find the answer, Consumer Reports looked at all of the major ownership costs and financial benefits of six different hybrid vehicles -- a mix of sedans and sport-utility vehicles (SUVs).

In Consumer Reports' analysis, none of the six hybrids tested recovered its price premium in the first five years and 75,000 miles of ownership. In fact, the extra ownership costs over five years for those vehicles ranged from $3,700 to $13,300.

These reporters are always talking about the premium price of hybrids.  They are full of it! An Insight can be had for less than $19,000, and a base package Prius can be had for less than $24,000.  What these reports often leave out is the savings on maintenance, the non-monetary savings, and the fact that gas prices aren't going down.  If you only buy a hybrid for the gas savings you are buying for the wrong reasons.  If you are buying a hybrid you have to take in the whole picture, hybrids help the environment, some states allow driving in the carpool lane, less foreign oil, etc.  Today's hybrids lack many expensive mechanical parts found in traditional automobiles.  Hybrids don't have starters or alternators, they use their brakes less and can save several brake jobs over their lifetimes. They also leave out the tax breaks that hybrid owners receive just for doing right by the environment.

They mentioned a price premium of their test vehicles, when testing vehicles with all wheel drive, limited editions etc.  these packages by their nature cost more so they are comparing apples to oranges.  When the media gets real and starts to embrace hybrid technology instead of attacking it we can then begin to build more and better hybrids.  Eventually we can move on to better technology and begin the process over again, innovating while fighting off the pessimists in the major media outlets.

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