Comments on Somewhere in the Sun: Article: Hybrid Cars & Cost

Thanks, Ron!I've been watching how I drive as well...

2008-07-14T16:33:30.259-04:00

Thanks, Ron!

I've been watching how I drive as well. Driving slower, accelerating slower, etc. It wasn't that big of a change from my regular driving habits. The biggest thing I could do is to check my tire pressure, I am bad at that.

Kim, Thanks for the link! Here's my profile page o...

2008-07-14T16:22:00.000-04:00

Kim, Thanks for the link! Here's my profile page on Helium with a new article on getting the best gas mileage from the car you have.

http://www.helium.com/users/54514/show_articles

Love the Lion fish pic. A law office I visit has one the size of a football in an aquarium.

Ron Erb
www.ronerb.com

One big thing this article is missing: what if the...

2008-06-10T15:27:00.000-04:00

One big thing this article is missing: what if the cost of gas changes?

The basic analysis is fine, but by now we all know that the price of gas isn't exactly fixed. If you were running it, you might try a few scenarios of what happens if gas gets more expensive and if gas gets cheaper (say, $1 gas, $3 gas, $5 gas, and $8 gas).

First, higher-mileage vehicles will be more attractive as gas prices increase (although at a certain point - $8 gas! - maybe your driving habits would change so much that you'd have to factor in that, too). It also means you would expect to see more high-mileage cars in the long run, which may make it worth waiting a little longer as well.

Second, the value of high-mileage vehicles is going to increase with the price of gas, too. The reason Priuses hold their value better is because people who have Priuses aren't selling them - they're either being green or being cheap, so why sell it now? If gas prices go up, the prices of used and new high-mileage cars will go up, too. But be careful - if gas prices go down, not only will the gas savings between a high-mileage and regular car decrease, but the resale value might decrease, too. If gas suddenly fell to $2/gallon again and stayed there, the number of people looking for a used Prius is going to be fewer, too.