I doubt a hybrid diesel would save enough on fuel costs to pay for the battery replacements. Once you get above 40 mpg the diminishing returns start to take over.brewer12345 said:Gotta wonder why they don't do hybrid diesels...
I doubt a hybrid diesel would save enough on fuel costs to pay for the battery replacements. Once you get above 40 mpg the diminishing returns start to take over.brewer12345 said:Gotta wonder why they don't do hybrid diesels...
Nords said:I doubt a hybrid diesel would save enough on fuel costs to pay for the battery replacements. Once you get above 40 mpg the diminishing returns start to take over.
Nords said:I doubt a hybrid diesel would save enough on fuel costs to pay for the battery replacements.
Speaking from a career of keeping complicated nuclear/electrical/microprocessor/hydraulic/pneumatic systems in working condition only by dint of much additional manual labor-- it's all marketing gimmicks.brewer12345 said:What about a so-called "mild hybrid"?
Nords said:Speaking from a career of keeping complicated nuclear/electrical/microprocessor/hydraulic/pneumatic systems in working condition only by dint of much additional manual labor-- it's all marketing gimmicks.
Payoff (years) = (Prius price - used car price)/(gas price in $ per gallon) * (Prius mpg-used car mpg)/(miles driven per year). I'm assuming a new Prius (fresh from the dealer's lot) costs $22K and I'm hoping someone has better price data.
I did the math for a Toyota Prius against our 1994 Taurus station wagon ($8100, 22 mpg) and our 1990 Honda Civic ($6795, 35 mpg but since gone to its great reward). Oahu gas is about $2.45/gallon. Even at 15K miles/year the numbers are six years to a decade payback, let alone our actual driving records of 3K miles/year. The above formula also doesn't account for Prius' extra insurance & maintenance expenses (plus computer issues).
Maybe the math will improve when used Priuses (Priuii?) are less than $10K and gas is over $3/gallon. Anyone want to plot the formula on a multi-axis graph and find its sweet spots?
Buy hybrids for the "cool" factor, but don't buy 'em for the gas savings.
Nords said:Buy hybrids for the "cool" factor, but don't buy 'em for the gas savings.
Yikes-- have the COMPANY buy you a Prius.brewer12345 said:I suspect that my payback would be a lot quicker, since I drive a lot with my new gig (30 to 35k miles a year).