Breakeven: It's getting shorter, says USA Today

[skruse]

At a consistent 53 mpg or better, PZEV (no smog checks), no idling, glide and brake regeneration, Sirius satellite radio, JBL sound, large interior space, fusiform shape, easy 5k service intervals and many other features - I pay it forward and reap the "payback" every day. Instead of "substituting oil for knowledge" I model what I teach - a conservative approach to life. The true payback is long-term sustainability, not short-term profit.

[Ichiro]

so why does that article claim that the camry hybrid has a shorter payback period then the prius does? must be an error.

[dogfriend]

What kind of payback period can I expect for a Hummer H2?

[omgitsroy326]

Originally Posted by Ichiro

so why does that article claim that the camry hybrid has a shorter payback period then the prius does? must be an error.

Let's do it simple way

Cost
Camry Hybrid > Prius

MPG
Camry Hybrid < Prius

So why does it take longer to get your money back in a prius? I'm really confused...Are they comparing a prius to a Fully Loaded v10 camry or something? i don't get it .. someone please explain

[DeadPhish]

This is what I was saying in the other thread on this subject. Edmunds which I think has the best of intentions does a sloppy, lazy analysis then the rest of the media who really have no clue what this is all about pick up the 'expert analysis' and just regugitate Edmunds' stats.

Hybrids recoup higher cost in less time - USATODAY.com

It's not 'bad' per se but I dont understand why Edmunds just doesn't use all the resources that they have at their disposal on their own site.

[burritos]

Is there a non hybrid prius? Then how can you really calculate a payback period? The argument that you compare cars that are similar is silly.

Then would it be legitimate to compare a BMW 325 to a Honda Accord V6? What's the payback for that price difference? Oh yeah, never.

[DeadPhish]

Originally Posted by omgitsroy326

Let's do it simple way

Cost
Camry Hybrid > Prius

MPG
Camry Hybrid < Prius

So why does it take longer to get your money back in a prius? I'm really confused...Are they comparing a prius to a Fully Loaded v10 camry or something? i don't get it .. someone please explain

Again, here is Edmunds providing info to a bunch of media dopes and Edmunds can't get a couple of basic concepts right. How are the media dummies supposed to understand?

Either the Prius is a stand-alone hybrid with no non-hybrid counterpart so there is no valid comparison...
or more accurately...
the non-hybrid counterpart of the Prius ( a 5 door 4c hatchback ) is the Matrix ( a 5 door 4c hatchback )!!!

The Package #2 Prius goes for ~$23900
The Matrix with the same features goes for ~$20500 with the same equipment ( no SKS )

If a proper comparo is to be done these are two to compare

[cwerdna]

Although the accuracy of their numbers is being called in comparison, I found it interesting they mentioned the breakeven period for the Saturn Aura Hybrid is 24.3 years.

Is Jonnycat26 going to sing the praises of GM's BAS mild hybrids again?

[dwdean]

Originally Posted by Ichiro

so why does that article claim that the camry hybrid has a shorter payback period then the prius does? must be an error.

The problem that I see here not in the numbers themselves, it's in what's "behind" them:

For the Camry, there's an obvious hybrid and non-hybrid model. It's easy to calculate that the hybrid version is about $880ish more expensive than the conventional. Based on the difference in FE, with an assumed driving distance and cost per gallon of gas, it's easy to figure out that it would take about a year and three-quarters to save the $880ish more that you paid for the Camry hybrid (if you bought one.)

However, now we come to the Prius and what I see as the rub. The article is claiming that the Prius "hybrid premium" is about $2,200. Using the same methodology as was done for the Camry; it's easy to see that with the assumptions in the "pay-back" figure using all the stated assumptions is a little more than 2 and half years. But that's all in the article... The problem is that is have absolutely know idea how they came to the somewhat (IMHO) ridiculous conclusion that the "hybrid premium" on a Prius is $2,200. What comparison are they making (last I checked, the Prius only comes as a hybrid)?

The best that I can see that they did was compare the Prius to some other model (probably the Camry, but I'm guessing.) Does anyone have any idea what kind of methodology they used for this? I'm sure that this has got have been discussed before...

Oh, and to answer you question, based on the calculations summarized in the article, the Prius has a longer "pay back" time simply because it has a larger hybrid premium (not that I understand how they got that.) Only the Prius' superior FE enabled it to make up that handicap as quickly as it did.

[dwdean]

Originally Posted by DeadPhish

The Package #2 Prius goes for ~$23900
The Matrix with the same features goes for ~$20500 with the same equipment ( no SKS )

If a proper comparo is to be done these are two to compare

Bingo!

When I was ranting on this a second ago, I completely forgot about the Matrix (though I think that's still a "fruit salad" comparison.)