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Automotive News & Views Are gas prices fueling your pain? 
10042 messages, Last post on Jul 12, 2008 at 3:07 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: chadx (Apr 29, 2008 8:54 am) Thats a really good point, I didnt think of it that way... So really you would be saving alot more money by having the SUV hybrid even if you are using more fuel.
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Replying to: bumpy (Apr 29, 2008 6:30 am) |
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Replying to: steve_ (Apr 29, 2008 7:42 am) |
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Replying to: lmpracetech (Apr 29, 2008 7:28 am) How much does a total vehicle cost to produce with the added cost of R&D? Lets say for example a Prius? That's a good question. It's the reason that I referenced the fact that the Prius is nothing more than an 4c ICE 5 door hatch like the Matrix with the addition of... ... a battery pack  ~$2000-$2500 ( OEM cost ) ... two e-motors ~$500 ... inverter & converter ~$500 ... no transmission ~$1500 savings ( OEM cost ) ... Power Split Device ~$1000 ( ?) The Prius is built on the same lines as other midsized autos in Japan so no additional investments were needed there. But basically the Prius is the same as a Matrix which sells for about $19000-$20000. The Prius has the additional technology noted above which probably amounts to about $3000 and the Pruis had somewhere about $2000 to $3000 in special R&D costs that the Matrix did not have. Today the Prius R&D is fully paid off so the only difference between the Matrix and the Prius is the hybrid components. Toyota's stated intention is to get the additional manufacturing cost down to about $1000. |
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Replying to: lmpracetech (Apr 29, 2008 9:38 am) You would save about $785 a year in fuel costs by choosing the Tahoe Hybrid over the 5.3 liter Tahoe 1500 2wd. You would save about $558 a year in fuel costs by choosing a Camry Hybrid over a 4-cyl Camry. So it IS less, but not "way more." The difference is about $19 a month. |
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Replying to: gagrice (Apr 19, 2008 8:53 pm) The latest figures would tend to disagree: Housing prices drop at fastest pace ever Pace of foreclosures more than doubles from same quarter in 2007 Vacant homes for sale hit new record high Housing slump may exceed Depression |
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I used to be a DOD program manager. R&D costs were typically 5 % of total llife cycle costs. A typical system was expected to last 20 years. The interesting point was that R&D did determine how much production cots were going to be. So R&D was a very important step. My Camry Hybrid is a little more than the 4 cylinder Camry 4 cylinder. But the 4 Cylinder does not offer the GPS or a few other options I got on my Hybrid. So the costs are now comparable. |
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Replying to: larsb (Apr 29, 2008 10:02 am) What yearly mileage are you using and what cost per gallon? Also, an interesting fact is the number of gallons a year one would save, which is the more for the Tahoe. Then it's easier to compare that for future gas prices rather than current.
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Replying to: tedebear (Apr 29, 2008 10:06 am) You can NOT become the Eagle without earning the merit badges along the path. 
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Replying to: steve_ (Apr 29, 2008 7:42 am) "If your monthly gas bill is somewhere between $50 and $100 a month then it costs somewhere between your monthly DSL charge and your premium cable/satellite charge to keep your car full." What's this guy smoking? We probably spend that in a week easily. $100 is only a bit more than 25 gallons. A couple of cars and that gets gigantic in a hurry. And while that graph shows that what's going on isn't as bad in terms of constant dollars it does NOT show that gas prices have been stable since 1979 (a particularly bad year for an example anyway). The price right now is still the highest in that time frame and shows no signs of letting up. |
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