Showing posts with label Hybrid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hybrid. Show all posts

Sunday, January 20, 2008

So Green We're Glowing

When you mention to some people that you are going to buy a hybrid vehicle it is like they put on an invisible "hybrid haters" persona and find every reason that people shouldn't buy one. Lets recount the comments we've heard.
  • It will take you 7 years to recoup the initial higher price by getting just a bit better MPG.
  • The battery will only last 70,000 miles and then it will cost $7,000 to replace (followed by a snide "so how's that hybrid sound now?")
  • You really won't get any better gas mileage than my family toting Dodge Charger.
  • Your wife has a mini-van so keep your Mustang, you don't really need seat belts for everyone. (yea, this was my favorite)
  • If you get in a wreck you might as well be dead because the car is so tiny.
  • It will take 1 mile to get up to 45 mph.

So, here is a little rebuttal for all the declared and disguised "hybrid haters." It also gave me a little time to improve my brain age score by doing some math.

Prior to 12/31 the van needed gas every 10 days @ 19 gallons per fill up. The Mustang needed gas every 10 days @ 15 gallons per fill up. This equates to 34 gallons of gas every 10 days or 102 gallons of gas per month. $298.86/month

After 12/31 the van has been filled up one time and has been using the same tank of gas for 16 days. The Civic has been filled up once after 2 weeks @ 10.5 gallons. The current usage for both vehicles will be 50 gallons of gas per month. $146.50/ month

So, lets us do some simple math. After the $2100 tax credit the initial higher cost is nill and my gas savings per month was slashed in half. Enjoy your time at the pump.