ARE YOU READY FOR A HYBRID VEHICLE?
0051 www.mantra.com/jai
Forwarded message from http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SoFlaVegans
[ Subject: Are you ready for a hybrid vehicle?
[ From: "Fidyl" <fi...@yahoo.com>
[ Date: Fri, 30 Dec 2005
Are you ready for a hybrid vehicle?
By Lucy Lazarony
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/auto/20030122a.asp
Here come the hybrids.
Sports utility vehicles and pickup trucks that combine gasoline
engines with battery-powered electric motors are on the way, joining
the passenger cars that are already available.
Ford plans to launch its Ford Escape hybrid in December. Hybrid SUVs
from Saturn and Lexus are due to arrive in 2005, followed by a hybrid
SUV from Chevrolet in 2006.
General Motors will launch two models of hybrid pickups in 2004 and a
Chevrolet Malibu hybrid sedan in 2007.
Families that prefer an ultra fuel-efficient and eco-friendly set of
wheels will have a lot more choices in just a few years.
Right now, folks who want to embrace the new hybrid technology and do
their part for the environment have three auto choices: a Toyota
Prius sedan, a Honda Civic hybrid or a two-seater Honda Insight.
Hybrids launch dates in North America
Make and model
Release date
Honda Insight hatchback
December 1999
Toyota Prius sedan
June 2000
Honda Civic hybrid sedan
April 2002
Ford Escape SUV
December 2003
GMC Sierra pickup
2004
Chevy Silverado pickup
2004
Lexus RX 330 SUV
2005
Saturn VUE SUV
2005
Chevrolet Equinox SUV
2006
Chevrolet Malibu sedan
2007
Hybrid vehicles are good for the earth because they suck up less gas
and spit out less pollution. But before you dash out and buy one, be
sure to consider the cost.
Being an environmental trailblazer isn't cheap. The hybrid cars
available today cost anywhere from $1,500 to $4,000 more than
comparable conventional cars.
Despite ultra-impressive gas mileage, you'll have a tough time making
up the price difference at the pump. And that doesn't include any
additional maintenance costs and the possibility that you may have
trouble reselling the vehicle.
On the other hand, you do get a substantial tax break by purchasing a
hybrid car.
Fuel-cost comparison
Let's start by comparing the gasoline costs of driving a $20,000
Civic Hybrid with a $16,500 Civic LX. The Civic Hybrid with a manual
transmission gets an impressive gas mileage of 46 miles per gallon in
the city and 51 mpg on the highway. The Civic LX gets 33 mpg in the
city and 39 mpg on the highway.
We'll use city mileage figures for both cars because that's the
mileage estimate most drivers are likely to achieve. Let's say gas is
$1.50 per gallon and you drive 15,000 miles every year.
Will you be able to rack up $3,500 in fuel-cost savings with your
Civic Hybrid? Not unless you plan on keeping the car forever.
Driving a Civic Hybrid instead of a Civic LX will trim your fuel
costs by about $193 a year. After five years you'd save $965 at the
pump. After 10 years, you'd save $1,930. After 15 years you'd save
$2,895, but you'd still be more than $600 short of your $3,500 goal.
Hybrids by the numbers
Car
Description
Gas mileage
MSRP
Honda Insight
2-passenger hatchback
61 mpg city
68 mpg hwy
starting at $19,080
Honda Civic Hybrid
5-passenger sedan
46 mpg city
51 mpg hwy
starting at $19,550
Toyota Prius
5-passenger sedan
52 mpg city
45 mpg hwy
starting at $20,480
Source: Honda, Toyota
Let's take a closer look at the numbers.
To drive 15,000 miles with a Civic Hybrid, you'll need to pump in
about 326 gallons of gas. Pay $1.50 a gallon and your yearly fuel
costs will run about $489.
To drive 15,000 miles with a Civic LX, you'll need to pump in more
than 454 gallons of gas. At $1.50 a gallon your yearly fuel costs
will run about $682, just $193 more than the Civic Hybrid.
Of course, the more gas prices go up, the more money you'll save
driving a Civic Hybrid instead of a conventional Civic.
So let's say gas prices shoot up to $2 a gallon. Yearly fuel expenses
with a Civic LX will run about $908 compared with $652 for a Civic
Hybrid. That's a savings of $256 a year. After five years of high
fuel prices you'd save $1,280. But you're still a long way from
recouping the extra $3,500 you paid for your environmentally friendly
set of wheels. Helping the earth can be hard on your wallet.
Tax break
A one-time federal tax deduction of $2,000 may help soften the blow.
Any car shopper who purchases a new hybrid through 2003 is eligible
for the full tax deduction. A smaller deduction will be available
through 2006.
Fuel-efficient tax breaks
Federal tax rate
2002 tax savings
for hybrid-car owner
15%
$300
27%
$540
30%
$600
35%
$700
38.6%
$772
"It's a laudable attempt by the federal government to get you to buy
a fuel-efficient vehicle," says Bob Trinz, an editor of RIA's Federal
Taxes Weekly Alert.
Keep in mind that this is a tax deduction, not a tax credit.
Consumers who purchase all-electric vehicles can get a tax credit,
but the IRS warns that the credit does not apply to hybrids since
they do not depend chiefly on electricity. However, even a deduction
can save you a nice chunk of change.
Just how much the deduction will save you on your federal taxes
depends on your tax bracket. A hybrid owner in the 38.6 percent tax
bracket would knock $772 off his or her tax bill. Someone in the 35
percent tax bracket would save $700. A hybrid owner in the 27 percent
tax bracket would save $540.
Even a hybrid owner who takes a standard tax deduction will qualify
for this deduction.
"You need not itemize to claim this," Trinz says. "It's commonly
described as an above-the-line tax deduction."
You claim the $2,000 deduction on line 32 of tax form 1040. Be sure
to write the words "clean fuel" as well.
Some states offer tax breaks to hybrid-car buyers, as well. For
example, in Oregon you receive a $1,500 credit when you buy any
hybrid vehicle. Be sure to ask your state's tax department about
hybrid cars. It could save you some serious cash on a state tax bill.
But a lot of car shoppers who would consider buying a hybrid aren't
bothered by the extra costs, according to a recent survey by J.D.
Power and Associates, a marketing information and research firm based
in Agoura Hills, Calif.
Lots of folks say they would go forward with a hybrid purchase if
they could recover at the gas pump just half of the additional cost.
For example, they'd be willing to shell out $3,500 more for a Civic
Hybrid as long as they could save $1,750 in gas expenses while they
owned the car. A Hybrid owner who drives 15,000 miles a year could
achieve that goal after five years with the help of the one-time
federal tax deduction.
Why do people seem willing to take a financial hit when purchasing a
hybrid car?
"They want to do the right thing for the environment. They want to be
seen participating in that effort," says Thad Malesh, a director of
the alternative power technology practice at JD Power.
Thanks to impressive fuel efficiency and squeaky-clean emissions,
hybrid cars are much kinder to the environment than traditional cars.
For example, the Toyota Prius is 90 percent cleaner than the average
new 2003 car, according to the California Air Resources Board. This
five-passenger sedan is considered a Super Ultra Low-Emission Vehicle
(SULEV). And with a gas mileage of 52 mpg in the city and 45 mpg on
the highway, you'll be able to drive quite some time before you even
have to think about refueling.
Incidentally, the car gets better mileage in the city because it uses
the electric motor more with that type of driving.
The 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid falls under the Ultra Low-Emission
Vehicle (ULEV) category, which isn't too shabby either. A ULEV is
about 50 percent cleaner than the average new 2003 model year car.
And while plenty of 2003 cars fall under this category, they don't
match Civic Hybrid's gas mileage of 46 mpg in the city and 51 mpg on
the highway. A Civic Hybrid is about 30 percent more fuel efficient
than a conventional, gas-powered Civic.
As for the Honda Insight, this little two-seater is the most
fuel-efficient car in the country hands down. Its gas mileage is an
impressive 61 mpg in the city and 68 mpg on the highway. Its
automatic model, which comes with a continuously variable
transmission, has been certified as a SULEV vehicle.
What to ask before you buy a hybrid
Still, as good as these cars may be for the environment, consider the
long-term impact on your wallet. Here are some financial questions
even the most stringent environmentalist should consider before
purchasing a hybrid.
Can you and your family afford to spend an extra $1,500 to $4,000
upfront on a new car?
How long do you plan to keep the car? The resale value of a used
hybrid is a big question mark. It's possible you could take another
financial hit when you sell a hybrid. If you're not prepared to keep
a hybrid for the long haul, think twice about purchasing one.
Can you afford the repairs? A key concern for long-term hybrid owners
is maintenance costs. If you keep a car beyond warranty, you'll be
stuck with the repair bills and they could get expensive.
"At some point the batteries are going to have to be replaced and
they're expensive," says Larry Webster, a technical editor at Car and
Driver. "The cost could be anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000."
The hybrid parts in a Toyota Prius, including batteries, are covered
by an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty. Honda covers its hybrid
systems with an eight-year, 80,000-mile warranty. So in your ninth
year as a car owner, you'll be on the hook for any hybrid repairs in
addition to the car's ordinary maintenance costs.
Intrigued by hybrid cars but not sure if you can afford one? This
hybrid car decision maker from Bankrate.com will help tell you.
End of forwarded message from http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SoFlaVegans
Jai Maharaj
http://www.mantra.com/jai
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"And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
- Matthew 10:34-36.
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The Ghost In The Machine
<use...@mantra.com>
wrote
on Sat, 31 Dec 2005 04:00:07 GMT
<20051230LOayO9496oWXbO@HzaI>:
> ARE YOU READY FOR A HYBRID VEHICLE?
>
> Forwarded message from http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SoFlaVegans
>
> [ Subject: Are you ready for a hybrid vehicle?
> [ From: "Fidyl" <fi...@yahoo.com>
> [ Date: Fri, 30 Dec 2005
>
> Are you ready for a hybrid vehicle?
>
> By Lucy Lazarony
> http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/auto/20030122a.asp
Let me put it this way.
Expected vehicle lifetime: 150,000 miles
@ 30 mpg & $1.50/gal
= $7,500 gas costs (delta $2,500)
@ 15 mpg & $2.00/gal
= $20,000 gas costs (delta $15,000)
@ 60 mph & $2.00/gal
= $5,000 gas costs
That's the gross amount payable to the gas gods.
I wouldn't consider a hybrid vehicle unless my vehicle is about
ready to drop dead. (It's ailing but still running,
and has about 124,000 or thereabouts.)
Nice idea but the economics don't justify immediate replacement.
Eventual replacement, maybe, and only if it can handle other
requirements, such as towing capacity, kid-hauling capabilities,
and safety margins. (Not to mention styling and color, if one is
worried about such.)
>
> Here come the hybrids.
[rest snipped for brevity]
Any savings from gas and tax breaks are more than offset by the
higher price, at this time anyway. The only other advantage
that might be worth mentioning is that in California it is
possible to pay an extra small fee ($50, I think) and run
in the carpool/HOV lane.
--
#191, ewi...@earthlink.net
It's still legal to go .sigless.
Mark Martin
Dr. Jai Maharaj wrote:
> So let's say gas prices shoot up to $2 a gallon.
Uh... Let's say *hypothetically* it gets up there? As in, it's not
already? Please, sit. I need to fill you in on all that's transpired
during your stay on Gilligan's Island.
-Mark Martin
=and= www.mantra.com/jai
"Mark Martin" <qed...@hotmail.com> posted:
>
> Dr. Jai Maharaj wrote [NOT!]:
>
> > So let's say gas prices shoot up to $2 a gallon.
No, I did not write the above.
CWatters
Ok so it looks like a toy car but...
It's done 204 miles on a single charge on the official urban test cycle.
and was built for less than £6000.....
Extra urban cycle: 255 km/156 miles
Urban cycle: 326 km/ 204 miles
Urban cycle power consumption: 0.121 kWh/km
Extra urban cycle power consumption: 0.155 kwh/km
Maximum speed measured during tests: 114 kmh/71 mph
Useable energy stored in batteries: 39.6 kWh
Motor: Advanced DC with Regenerative Braking
http://www.evuk.co.uk/news/index.html#jesterlion
ranjit_...@yahoo.com
Dr. Jai Maharaj wrote:
> ARE YOU READY FOR A HYBRID VEHICLE?
Yes; one that can be driven AND flown.
Mark Martin
Dr. Jai Maharaj wrote:
> In article <1136039128....@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>,
> "Mark Martin" <qed...@hotmail.com> posted:
> >
> > Dr. Jai Maharaj wrote [NOT!]:
> >
> > > So let's say gas prices shoot up to $2 a gallon.
>
> No, I did not write the above.
Uh, it's in your post.
-Mark Martin
- - www.mantra.com/jai
>
> Dr. Jai Maharaj wrote:
>
> > In article <1136039128....@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>,
> > "Mark Martin" <qed...@hotmail.com> posted:
> > >
> > > Dr. Jai Maharaj wrote [NOT!]:
> > >
> > > > So let's say gas prices shoot up to $2 a gallon.
> >
> > No, I did not write the above.
>
> Uh, it's in your post.
>
> -Mark Martin
Distinguish between "posted by" and "written by".