It's all in how you read the stats

[genalex]

Read the following then go to Edmunds.com to see how the original article was slanted oppositely.


Some Hybrid Vehicles Becoming Sensible Purchases, According to Edmunds.com

Source: BW
Date: 08:00 AM

08/22 08:00 Some Hybrid Vehicles Becoming Sensible Purchases, According to Edmunds.com

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 22, 2006--

Edmunds.com's latest hybrid study shows that despite higher sales prices, purchasing some -- though not all -- of today's hybrids can make good financial sense.

For the latest installment of its "Fuel Economy Guide," Edmunds.com compared the sales prices and annual gas expenses of hybrid vehicles and their non-hybrid counterparts.

"Our study revealed that high gas prices and generous tax credits now offset the high sales prices of some hybrids, assuming owners keep their hybrids for a few years," said Alex Rosten, Manager of Pricing and Market Analysis for Edmunds.com.

Edmunds.com's study indicates that the higher purchase price is completely recovered for the Ford Escape Hybrid and Toyota Prius within three years of ownership, while buyers of the Honda Civic Hybrid, Saturn VUE Green Line and Toyota Camry Hybrid reach break-even within six years of ownership, in each case assuming the vehicle is driven 15,000 miles per year.



(At least they offered a Prius v Camry comparison in calculating a "hybrid premium" in addition to the customary, and inapropriate, Prius v Corolla.)

[brandon]

Where is the "original" Edmunds.com article? Is this the one?
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/fueleconomy/...13/article.html

See also the CNN.com (Reuters) article:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/AUTOS/08/22/bc.aut...reut/index.html

You're right - it's interesting to see the same numbers be viewed differently; the comparison results aren't consistent, so you can pick whichever set of numbers you want in order to reach your conclusion.

One more link... a related thread:
http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=23671

[tochatihu]

As I have been commenting elsewhere, another approach is to use realistic depreciation values in Edmunds' total cost of ownership analysis of Prius. Hint - it is less expensive to operate than they suggest.

[genalex]

[quote]
Where is the "original" Edmunds.com article? Is this the one?
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/fueleconomy/...13/article.html



Yep. That was it.

[Bill Merchant]

Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics.

[theorist]

The Edmunds analysis also assumes that the Prius costs $2,000 more than most of us paid. If you look at the details of their analysis, you'll see that they assumed that buyers paid their TMV (true market value) which is more than $2,000 over MSRP. In this informal poll here at PriusChat we can see that most PriusChatters have recently been paying MSRP. Paying less than MSRP is far more common than paying more than MSRP.

If we partially correct the Edmunds analysis by assuming that the Prius costs MSRP, rather than more than $2000 more, the Prius costs less than the Camry LE as soon as you receive the $3150 tax credit. The fuel cost savings are gravy, or compensation if you preferred the Camry.

They also neglected to even add the optional aluminum wheels and ABS to the Corolla, which are standard on a Prius. This raises their TMV for the Corolla by $662, and reduces the miles till fuel savings overcomes the purchase price difference to 7.2 years or 109,000 miles. Adding a hatchback takes us further. The 2006 Matrix XR with ABS costs only $2057 less and gets 28/34/31 mpg EPA. The tax credit and the gas savings of the Prius overcome the lower purchase cost of a Matrix in only 3.2 years or 49,000 miles.

We all know that the Prius is a much nicer car in the meantime, and if you sell the Prius before 49,000 miles, you're likely to make-up the rest of the purchase price difference with a higher resale value for the Prius as opposed to the Matrix.

Of course, all this assumes that you were lucky enough to get your Prius between January and September 30, 2006, and that you aren't subject to the alternative minimum tax.

[genalex]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(theorist @ Aug 23 2006, 02:43 PM) [snapback]308360[/snapback]</div>

The Edmunds analysis also assumes that the Prius costs $2,000 more than most of us paid. If you look at the details of their analysis, you'll see that they assumed that buyers paid their TMV (true market value) which is more than $2,000 over MSRP. In this informal poll here at PriusChat we can see that most PriusChatters have recently been paying MSRP. Paying less than MSRP is far more common than paying more than MSRP.

If we partially correct the Edmunds analysis by assuming that the Prius costs MSRP, rather than more than $2000 more, the Prius costs less than the Camry LE as soon as you receive the $3150 tax credit. The fuel cost savings are gravy, or compensation if you preferred the Camry.

They also neglected to even add the optional aluminum wheels and ABS to the Corolla, which are standard on a Prius. This raises their TMV for the Corolla by $662, and reduces the miles till fuel savings overcomes the purchase price difference to 7.2 years or 109,000 miles. Adding a hatchback takes us further. The 2006 Matrix XR with ABS costs only $2057 less and gets 28/34/31 mpg EPA. The tax credit and the gas savings of the Prius overcome the lower purchase cost of a Matrix in only 3.2 years or 49,000 miles.

We all know that the Prius is a much nicer car in the meantime, and if you sell the Prius before 49,000 miles, you're likely to make-up the rest of the purchase price difference with a higher resale value for the Prius as opposed to the Matrix.

Of course, all this assumes that you were lucky enough to get your Prius between January and September 30, 2006, and that you aren't subject to the alternative minimum tax.
[/b]

Great analysis. You should forward it to Edmunds for their use in making future, and hopefully more accurate comparisons.