Hybrid Car Incentives

Wall Street Journal reports that incentives to buy hybrids are dwindling due to reductions in tax credits and falling gas prices. As they put it – “it’s getting a lot more expensive to be an environmentally conscious driver.”

The cost justification is not there – “let’s say you buy a Honda Civic, which gets 42 mpg and currently has a $525 credit. Assume you drive 15,000 miles a year with gas prices at $2.91 a gallon. The Civic hybrid’s price is some $4,000 higher than a gas-engine Civic, meaning it would take nearly 10 years to recoup the premium in gas savings, according to an Edmunds analysis.

Without the $525 credit, the payback period would be about a year longer, according to Edmunds. With the full $2,100 credit, the payback period would have been only six years.”

Bring on the SUV era again?

In the long run, gas prices will go up and we will be in the same energy problem scenario again.

Replacing a vehicle with a fuel efficient model has the biggest aggregate potential reduction in green house gas emissions at 31.4 millions of metric tons of carbon a year. Even more than Weatherizing a home (21.2), buying energy efficient appliances (11.7), or carpooling (6.5).

Related posts:

1. Payoff time for Hybrid vs Gas Cars – Toyota Prius Hybrid vs Toyota Camry
2. Green Car Quest using Turbochargers, Redesign, and Hybrid Technology
3. Hybrid Car Mileage Tips
4. Gas-Guzzler Trade-In Calculator
5. New Cars that Already Meet 2016 Fuel Economy Standards
6. Hybrid Water Heaters – GE GeoSpring Water Heater
7. Electric Cars – Nissan Leaf Electric Car – $7500 Federal Tax Credit Savings
8. Mortgage Incentives for Energy Efficiency

Posted on November 10th, 2008
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