newsflash: people driving hybrids aren’t peacocking to everybody or ‘elitist’ despite faux news reports. some people even in US actually do care about others and future, not just me me me. look at me. I want everybody to think I can afford a giant tank and it will make me cool somehow….

if fedex, ups etc. are now going electric, nobody else has any excuse. period.

-If you save $900/year in gas costs, most (if not all) of that saving will be eaten up by increased insurance and registration fees and interest fees if you borrow (you can easily look up those costs). The fuel savings will probably be dwarfed by depreciation, perhaps the biggest expense a new car owner has, although you can lower this by keeping your car longer (here, GM cars have traditionally depreciated significantly more than Japanese cars, in general).

-As Lost Prius has indicated, it’s good to keep the Simple in mind. If we want to sell vehicles that lower emissions and save gas, this can most predictably be done in two ways: raise the cost of owning less fuel efficient cars, and lower the relative cost of buying more efficient ones. This can be done by increased gas taxes and registration or inspection fees for older, less efficient cars. To avoid sudden shocks to the economic system, this could be done gradually but predictably (right now, the unpredictability of fuel prices may increase sales of wasteful cars as people wait for gas prices to come down again “like they always do(!).”

“Which begs the question WHY are there NO production SMALL SUV, SMALL hybrid pickups in the works ??”

The Ford Escape/Mercury Milan/Mazda Tribute Hybrids not only are production small SUVs, but have been around for years. And their owners seem to love them.

A hatch/wagon has lot more space than a similar sized sedan, so consider it.

I think both would be phenomenal sellers !! Would be best of both worlds, super fun, great view of road and great mileage to boot!

In early 2006, Consumer Reports indicated that I would be spending at least $2000 to $3000 more for a Prius hybrid than a comparable car, even with the full Federal Tax Credit and gas savings. My research and calculations showed me that they were way off in their statement. In mid 2006, Consumer Reports redid their figures and indicated that I would save $406 (with a full tax credit) over a five year period (subcompact Corolla XLE versus small sedan Prius). I was still laughing at them and their more detailed conservative figures, especially since I had real time figures (we bought the Prius in February 2006) that showed that they were still very conservatively off. This last year, Consumer Reports indicated that it would take only approximately a year or slightly more, without a tax credit, to recover the extra cost (and they are finally right). The Corolla is a budget minded car, but the Prius is still thriftier. And which space is preferable: The subcompact interior of the Corolla or the more spacious interior of the small sedan Prius?

This site is all about using common sense. I may work with rockets, but I promise you I am not a genius rocket scientist. I just applied simple math to the research of the vehicles available, looked at what is happening in the world and what were the findings of change to that world, and applied common sense. That is why we bought the Prius.

Although the Prius will not fill everyone’s needs (it is not a truck for hauling rock), there are and will be other future vehicles that will meet more and more people’s needs. The less oil that we all use now will make the world that much better for our children and their children to grow up in. Of course, that again is only common sense.

Quit trying to scare the Americans!

Heck with $3/gal, make it $5-$6/gal and people would change their behavior and buying patterns.