Trampas wrote: > Well I spend about $150-$170 a month on gas for my 420SEL which gets 19MPG. > So if I went out and purchased a new hybrid, or more likely a manual TDI, > that doubled my mileage I would save at most $100 a month. But at $100 a > month it would take me 15-20 years to pay for the car.
No argument. But there's a price of gasoline at which hybrids start to make sense. We're not there yet, but it wouldn't surprise me if we got there in another decade. I think Honda and Toyota know this and they're investing in getting real-world experience with the technology. When we reach a point where hybrids make sense, they'll be ahead. In that regard all those Insights and Priuses they're selling at a loss represent a sort of beta-test program.
