The Price of Being Green
In Autoweek today: Green (MPG) vs. Green ($$$): How much green being green will cost you.
If cars were competing in a beauty pageant, hybrids will certainly be the darling of the crowd. With the soaring gas prices today, hybrid vehicles are all in the rage, with drivers equating hybrid ownership to saving lots of money. But as the euphoria of owning an “environmentally-sound” vehicle slowly fades, people may soon realize that while hybrids may save money at the pump, they don’t necessarily save money overall.
Apparently, driving with a “clean” conscience does not come without a price. Autoweek reports:
For hybrid vehicles, that means paying more for fuel-saving technology that may not pay off at the pump any time soon. If saving money is your main objective for considering a hybrid car, your ambition is better served by owning a non-hybrid with good fuel economy, something like a Scion xA, which gets 32 mpg city/38 mpg highway.
According to EPA annual fuel cost estimates, the shortest period in which you will recoup the added sticker price of a hybrid is about nine years for a Ford Escape Hybrid vs. an Escape XLT V6.
If you include the $2,000 tax credit--available until Dec. 31 on all newly purchased hybrids--that duration can drop to as low as two years in the Honda Civic Hybrid. The exact figures for new tax incentives authorized under the 2005 Energy Bill can be as high as $3,400, depending on the type of vehicle and its fuel economy rating.
Obviously the higher the gas price and the more you drive, the faster the financial gap closes. All these calculations are based on car sales price and gasoline use, but do not include the eventual (and high) cost of replacing a hybrid’s battery pack.
I would like to think that whatever car you drive, be it a hybrid like a 2004 Toyota Prius or a conventional car like a 2000 [link=http:www.toyota.com/camry/?s_van=]Toyota Camry[/link], the key to truly doing your part for the environment is keeping your car well-maintained, especially its exhaust system. Regular checking of auto parts like the catalytic converter and other exhaust system auto parts will help keep you from becoming a complete environmental hazard. Malfunctioning or worn auto parts should immediately be repaired or replaced, and with reliable online auto parts like Auto Parts Inner offering premium quality Honda parts, Toyota parts, Ford parts, Nissan parts and Chevy parts just a click away – keeping your car running smoothly won’t have to be so hard.
A hybrid’s real return of investment, I agree, is knowing that every mile you drive and every trip you make to the gas station does not contribute to the further degradation of the planet. Anyone can do this too, though not as “statement-ish” as having a hybrid, but more so in being a responsible and socially-aware car owner/driver.
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