Most consumers willing to pay for hybrid cars

[steinravnik]

http://news.cnet.com/greentech/?tag=nefd.lede

[eurohazard]

VERY interesting #'s to me.

1) 72% of people are interested in Hybrids.
- than a "bombshell" is revealed that an average hybrid costs $5,000 more than a regular car
2) Now only 46% are still interested in Hybrids.

But these are probably the same people that think nothing of a $1,300 sunroof, or $550 "paint protection" package, or $900 window etching, or.......... Those things add up too.

[K-1]

"High" gas prices make people do stupid things.

From a recent comparison of mine:

After 5 years...
Cost to own Prius: $54k
Cost to own Corolla: $47k
Cost to own Cobalt: $42k

[eurohazard]

Originally Posted by K-1

"High" gas prices make people do stupid things.

From a recent comparison of mine:

After 5 years...
Cost to own Prius: $54k
Cost to own Corolla: $47k
Cost to own Cobalt: $42k

Care to share the breakdown? I am going to run some numbers too....not to "prove" you wrong or anything. I am kind of curious my self. It'll be interesting how close/far-away they are.

[mgescuro]

It's not about just selling people on a hybrid to save on fuel.

It's about selling the image of a hybrid because you think you are saving fuel and helping to protect the environment.
That's the ONLY way GM's going to sell the Volt at $40,000.

I saw on CNN a week or so ago that at current gas prices, the amount to make up the cost differential on a Prius in gas savings is 1.5 years. For an Aura... it s was some ridiculous amount. I want to say 17 years or something.

[64malibu]

Have you ever heard anyone say the cost of a replacement battery for a hybrid or when you will have to replace it?

[64malibu]

Did you know the carbon footprint (which everyone is talking about these days) is smaller for a Hummer than for a Prius?

[YupYupYup]

Originally Posted by 64malibu

Did you know the carbon footprint (which everyone is talking about these days) is smaller for a Hummer than for a Prius?

Yup! But don't tell that to the image-conscious nutball who wants to show everyone how "green" he is with his new Prius. Some people don't like the facts...Live in their little fantasy world because they can make everything the way they want unlike that real world.

[eaton53]

Originally Posted by K-1

"High" gas prices make people do stupid things.

From a recent comparison of mine:

After 5 years...
Cost to own Prius: $54k
Cost to own Corolla: $47k
Cost to own Cobalt: $42k

There's no way on God's green earth it costs $42K to own a Cobalt for 5 years.

The car cost $14K (that's assuming it'd be worthless after 5 years... it won't be)
Insurance cost $2K
If I'm a huge leadfoot (I'm not) and drive 15K miles a year and gas is $4 a gallon - $12K

With really extreme pessimism, that's $28K - it won't be that much... probably $20K - $25K since the car will have some value. So, am I going to have $14K+ in maintenance and repairs when I have at least some warranty the whole time?

Please... I've had the car a year and haven't even spent a hundred bucks yet.

[eurohazard]

Originally Posted by 64malibu

Have you ever heard anyone say the cost of a replacement battery for a hybrid or when you will have to replace it?

See post #15 and #17. This was Canadian $$$, so it's probably less in the US currently. After 7 years and 245,800 km, he paid $4000 CAD including labor. http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/sh...s+battery+cost This is the only one I know of that needed replacing.

Originally Posted by 64malibu

Did you know the carbon footprint (which everyone is talking about these days) is smaller for a Hummer than for a Prius?

False.

[PhishPhood]

Originally Posted by eurohazard

Care to share the breakdown? I am going to run some numbers too....not to "prove" you wrong or anything. I am kind of curious my self. It'll be interesting how close/far-away they are.

Let's do it 3 ways and compare .. it's a good exercise

Prius Pck #2 ... 6 airbags, VSC/Trac, Keyless, Alloys .. 46 mpg EPA comb
Corolla XLE ..... 6 airbags, VSC/Trac, Keyless, Alloys .. 30 mpg EPA comb
Cobalt 2LT ..... 4 airbags, Trac Ctl, Keyless, Alloys .... 26 mpg EPA comb

Effective prices today..
Prius #2.... $24300 MSRP
Corolla XLE $19200 MSRP
Cobalt 2LT. $19155 ( $2000 incentive ) = $17155 Net

Lifetime : 5 yrs and 75000 miles
Cost of fuel for 5 yrs: $4.75 /gal on average

RESALE VALUE in 5 yrs : 45% of Selling Price
Prius: $10900
Coro: $8600
Cob : $7700

Net vehicle cost:
Prius...$24300 - 10900 = $13400
Corolla. $19200 - 8600 = $10600
Cobalt. $17155 - 7700 = $9455

Cost of fuel for 5 yrs: (75000 / mpg) * $4.75
Prius ... (75000 / 46) * 4.75 = $7745
Corolla..(75000 / 30) * 4.75 = $11875
Cobalt.. (75000 / 26) * 4.75 = $13700

Total Cost..Net Vehicle Cost + Fuel
Prius... $13400 + 7745 = $21145
Corolla $10600 + $11875 = $22475
Cobalt. $9455 + $13700 = $23155

Cost of Money:
Corolla buyer gains 4% pa for 5 yrs on ~$5000 or ~$1100 in interest
Cobalt buyer gains 4% pa for 5 yrs on ~$7100 or ~$1500 in interest

The net result: It doesn't matter which one a buyer chooses the 'cost' of these three key items is about the same for all three. Pick whichever vehicle suits you best.

[PhishPhood]

Originally Posted by 64malibu

Have you ever heard anyone say the cost of a replacement battery for a hybrid or when you will have to replace it?

Internet research needed on actual cases of battery replacement. Business Week just did such a survey. It's well under 1% of all hybrids in existence.

Did you know the carbon footprint (which everyone is talking about these days) is smaller for a Hummer than for a Prius?

This is false that study was proven to be fictitious. It was disproven here more than a year ago.

Dumb 'study', it got a lot of attention but the author refused to show how he got his results. Then people began to look at it in more depth and the guy turned out to be a fool.

[eaton53]

Originally Posted by PhishPhood

Let's do it 3 ways and compare .. it's a good exercise

Prius Pck #2 ... 6 airbags, VSC/Trac, Keyless, Alloys .. 46 mpg EPA comb
Corolla XLE ..... 6 airbags, VSC/Trac, Keyless, Alloys .. 30 mpg EPA comb
Cobalt 2LT ..... 4 airbags, Trac Ctl, Keyless, Alloys .... 26 mpg EPA comb

Effective prices today..
Prius #2.... $24300 MSRP
Corolla XLE $19200 MSRP
Cobalt 2LT. $19155 ( $2000 incentive ) = $17155 Net

Lifetime : 5 yrs and 75000 miles
Cost of fuel for 5 yrs: $4.75 /gal on average

RESALE VALUE in 5 yrs : 45% of Selling Price
Prius: $10900
Coro: $8600
Cob : $7700

Net vehicle cost:
Prius...$24300 - 10900 = $13400
Corolla. $19200 - 8600 = $10600
Cobalt. $17155 - 7700 = $9455

Cost of fuel for 5 yrs: (75000 / mpg) * $4.75
Prius ... (75000 / 46) * 4.75 = $7745
Corolla..(75000 / 30) * 4.75 = $11875
Cobalt.. (75000 / 26) * 4.75 = $13700

Total Cost..Net Vehicle Cost + Fuel
Prius... $13400 + 7745 = $21145
Corolla $10600 + $11875 = $22475
Cobalt. $9455 + $13700 = $23155

Cost of Money:
Corolla buyer gains 4% pa for 5 yrs on ~$5000 or ~$1100 in interest
Cobalt buyer gains 4% pa for 5 yrs on ~$7100 or ~$1500 in interest

The net result: It doesn't matter which one a buyer chooses the 'cost' of these three key items is about the same for all three. Pick whichever one suits you best.

Those numbers are more like it.

Of course, here's some more numbers...

Prius: 78-hp gas, 67-horsepower electric
Corolla: 132 hp
Cobalt SS 2.4 (which cost a lot less than $17155): 171 hp

Drive a slow ass, no handling Toyota and save nothing? Pffft!!!

[Black Rabbit]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

It's not about just selling people on a hybrid to save on fuel.

It's about selling the image of a hybrid because you think you are saving fuel and helping to protect the environment.
That's the ONLY way GM's going to sell the Volt at $40,000.

I saw on CNN a week or so ago that at current gas prices, the amount to make up the cost differential on a Prius in gas savings is 1.5 years. For an Aura... it s was some ridiculous amount. I want to say 17 years or something.

That's if you compare a prius to 4cyl camry, not a corolla or matrix which it is equivalent to.

[HoosierRon]

Originally Posted by PhishPhood

Let's do it 3 ways and compare .. it's a good exercise

Prius Pck #2 ... 6 airbags, VSC/Trac, Keyless, Alloys .. 46 mpg EPA comb
Corolla XLE ..... 6 airbags, VSC/Trac, Keyless, Alloys .. 30 mpg EPA comb
Cobalt 2LT ..... 4 airbags, Trac Ctl, Keyless, Alloys .... 26 mpg EPA comb

Effective prices today..
Prius #2.... $24300 MSRP
Corolla XLE $19200 MSRP
Cobalt 2LT. $19155 ( $2000 incentive ) = $17155 Net

Lifetime : 5 yrs and 75000 miles
Cost of fuel for 5 yrs: $4.75 /gal on average

RESALE VALUE in 5 yrs : 45% of Selling Price
Prius: $10900
Coro: $8600
Cob : $7700

Net vehicle cost:
Prius...$24300 - 10900 = $13400
Corolla. $19200 - 8600 = $10600
Cobalt. $17155 - 7700 = $9455

Cost of fuel for 5 yrs: (75000 / mpg) * $4.75
Prius ... (75000 / 46) * 4.75 = $7745
Corolla..(75000 / 30) * 4.75 = $11875
Cobalt.. (75000 / 26) * 4.75 = $13700

Total Cost..Net Vehicle Cost + Fuel
Prius... $13400 + 7745 = $21145
Corolla $10600 + $11875 = $22475
Cobalt. $9455 + $13700 = $23155

Cost of Money:
Corolla buyer gains 4% pa for 5 yrs on ~$5000 or ~$1100 in interest
Cobalt buyer gains 4% pa for 5 yrs on ~$7100 or ~$1500 in interest

The net result: It doesn't matter which one a buyer chooses the 'cost' of these three key items is about the same for all three. Pick whichever vehicle suits you best.

Get a Cobalt 1LT with the XFE package, and it would be the cheapest. Given that this is the point of the comparison (which car is cheapest to own), I would think it would be the most appropriate choice. 1LT base price is $15,780. With the XFE package, it gets better mileage than the Corolla.