Guest Author - Robin Segal

What IS a hybrid car? “Hybrid” just means more than one kind of something, in this case, right now, it means an electric motor and a gasoline engine. Depending on the car manufacturer, these two engines work together in different ways.

If you are thinking of buying a hybrid car, there are a few things to consider. First, why do you want one? Is it to save the environment by using less gasoline? Is it to save money by using less gasoline? If you want to save the environment, then go ahead and buy a hybrid. You could also drive a smaller car, or one with less power; both of those actions would help. But if you want a big SUV, then a hybrid will certainly require less gasoline. But not that much less.

Let’s say your current vehicle gets 20 miles per gallon, and you drive fifteen thousand miles per year. Let’s also assume that gasoline will average $3 per gallon over the next 6 years, and that you will keep your car for six years, which is about average. With these numbers, you can expect to pay $2250 per year, for gasoline. Multiply by six years and your bill comes to $13,500.

Now, if the hybrid car you buy this year gets the equivalent of 35 miles per gallon, with all else being equal you should expect to pay about $1285 per year, for gasoline. Multiply by six years and your bill comes to $7,710. Over the lifetime of the car, you will save about $5790. Sounds great, right? But wait! Hybrids now cost about $4000 more than their equivalent gasoline-powered cars. That reduces your savings to less than $2000 over six years. On the other hand, there is a tax credit of about $2000 for hybrid cars, so your benefit increases again to nearly $4000 over six years.

That’s nothing to laugh at. In New York City, $4000 over six years buys you a small Starbucks coffee every day for six years. And we all know that Starbucks coffee can make up in personal energy what a hybrid lacks in horsepower. There are, of course, many ways to measure savings and trade-offs, but a serious consideration is how quickly the technology is developing. If you buy a hybrid today, there could be a similar technology that is twice as efficient, only two years down the road. If that happens, then your 2005 hybrid will be an albatross around your neck environmentally speaking.

The point is, there is no way for us to know how fast oil prices will rise, and how fast driving technology will develop. But there are other factors to consider, if you are really interested in making the move to a clean driving technology in the next few years, whenever it is time to retire your current car: