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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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why there's such a large disparity in payback periods with the Malibu hybrid, versus the Aura? Ditto the Yukon and Tahoe hybrids. As for my driving, I'm down to maybe 5,000 per year these days so from a purely economic standpoint, I guess none of the hybrids would ever make sense for me. Unless they start getting to the point that the technology just doesn't boost the price of the car very much. |
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| ...were equal to a pure ICE car, I'd definately get one as long as performance was comparable or better. Like all technologies, hybrid technology will become more affordable until it is the de facto standard or obsolete. | |
...to get the Lexus LS460h. I heard it only gets something like 20 MPG HWY. Geeze, my non-hybrid Cadillac DTS Performance gets 24 MPG HWY. My old Park Avenue will do 29 MPG HWY. Shoot, if the hybrid Lexus is that bad. How lousy is the regular car?
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Replying to: kdhspyder (Jun 12, 2008 6:22 am)
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Replying to: lemko (Jun 12, 2008 10:04 am) No one who buys that car gives a darn about payback. Just like they don't give a darn about payback for their second and third vacation homes, or their 60' yacht, or their villa in the South of France. It's the biggest, baddest, most expensive Lexus. About 1/2 the buyers probably buy it merely for THAT reason alone. |
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Replying to: lemko (Jun 12, 2008 10:04 am) Also, these are the new, down-rated numbers...the same ones that would sink your DTS to 15/22, or your Park Ave to 17/26. That 20/22 probably equated to around 22/24 under the old ratings, while the 16/24 was probably more like 18/27. Still, that's an awful lot of money for a car! |
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Replying to: lemko (Jun 12, 2008 10:04 am) As far as I know the S-class (S400) hybrid diesel is still on the books for 2010 or so...but it will actually produce some mileage. |
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I saw a car today, a gas hog type that people buy to show others that they've arrived... with the license plate "I see you seen me" spelled out phonetically. I guess that makes them feel even better about themselves. Too bad they're wasting so much fuel. No, it wasn't a hybrid. |
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I've biked 3 of the 4 days this week to work, which is 3.9 miles each way. The day I didn't bike was 95+F w/high humidity, and I needed to pick-up a gal. of milk. Here's my report so far. - I ride 75% of it on the sidewalk, though in some spots - across 1 small bridge there is no sidewalk or road, besides the 2 lanes; and in downtown the sidewalk is crowded and illegal for riding. - My main concern is when I'm on the narrow road parts; I had a large dump-truck come with 1'-2' yesterday, of side-swiping me. - A little rain or condensation makes the seat wet everyday. I live in an apt. complex now and its's a hassle trying to get the bike thru the security doors everynight, so outside it stays. - Since I have no cup-holder, I don't take my coffee. I end up buying it at work. Also since I have to leave 15 min. earlier, I cut the coffee-making from my schedule. So that cuts into my savings. So in summary: I estimate I saved $6 in gas, spent $2 of it on coffee, got some exercise, and spent about an extra 1/2 hr commuting per day. A mixed bag. If there was a pop-up thunderstorm late in the afternoon that trapped me here at work, I don't think it would be all that positive. Oh, and I have a few extra leg aches and pains. We'll see if they go away in time. But since my car depreciates whether driven ($10/day), the insurance is the same ($2/day), and the other fees ($1/day) don't go away, I'm not really saving that much.
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I've put together something people can use to measure their pain at the pump. The first step is to take how much you spend in fuel per month and divide it by your net income per month after taxes. A person(s) making $3,000 a month and spending $150 on petrol would have a pain index of 0.05 or 5%. So where do you fit in the pain index? 0 to 2.5% - Little or no pain, unless you are in debt up to your eyeballs. 2.5% to 5% - Minor irritation. Most folks should fall in this area. You are watching gasoline prices but the cost is manageable . Your next vehicle should probably be a bit more fuel efficient, however. 5% to 10% - Uncomfortable to very uncomfortable. You probably should be thinking about a more efficient car sooner rather than later. 10% to 15% - Severe pain. Unless you live with your mom or drive a company car you really should sit down and look at your options. 15% plus - This is kidney stone kind of pain. Immediate surgery is needed. This pain index is just a rough estimate. A lot depends on how expensive it is where you live, your debt load, size of your family and so on. Adjustments would also be needed for people with very low incomes or very high incomes. We fall in the 2.5% to 5% range so things are still not having a big impact.
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