Mathematics of Hybrids

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Ok, so I finally sat down and did the math to prove that hybrid cars are not a good deal, let alone truly beneficial to the environment.

Information used in this analysis accessed 19 October, 2008 as follows:

• base price, features, etc., on the vehicles themselves obtained from Saturn
• insurance costs and coverages courtesy of USAA
• fuel rebate information courtesy of DOE
  
• auto loan calculation courtesy of Bankrate

Insurance Coverage Details	Limits
Bodily Injury	25,000/50,000
Property Damage	25,000
Uninsured Motorists Bodily Injury	25,000/50,000
Medical Payments	10,000
Extended Benefits	Coverage Declined
Wage Earner Disability Benefits	Coverage Declined
Essential Services Disability Benefits	Coverage Declined
Death Benefit	Coverage Declined
Deductables	100/300
Towing and Labor	Basic

Final calculations produced the following results:

Saturn	Aura	XE		Hybrid
	Base Cost	$ 23,100.00		$ 26,700.00
	Registration (annual, not depreciated)	$ 437.00		$ 500.00
	Insurance (6 month premium)	$ 587.27		$ 643.77
	Tax (at time of purchase only)	$ 1,790.00	Fuel econ	$ 2,069.00	Fuel econ
	Gas Miles/$	7.33	22	8.67	26
	*assumes $3/gal	11	33	11.33	34
	Annual fuel cost
	*assumes 10000/year	$ 1,363.64	city	$ 1,153.85	city
		$ 909.09	hwy	$ 882.35	hwy
	Hybrid tax credit			$ (1,300.00)
	Monthly payment	$ 441.24		$ 510.00
	Total cost	$ 43,140.28	city	$ 47,375.93	city
	*assumes 5 year ownership term	$ 40,867.55	hwy	$ 46,018.46	hwy
	*assumes 5.5% interest
	Savings for hybrid			$ (2,935.65)
				$ (3,850.91)
Both Auras have a 16 gallon fuel tank

As you can see, no matter what over the term of ownership, a hybrid costs you more money. In addition to total final cost, if financed with similar terms (nothing down), it also costs more per month, both in payment and in insurance, despite the fuel savings. The increased costs of registration and insurance eat up all the gas savings since the cost is spread out over time. Plus, to replace any parts of the advanced hybrid technology costs much more (this in part accounts for higher insurance costs), which becomes especially important once the warranty term expires. Increased registration and taxes, occasioned by the higher base cost of the hybrid, eat up the savings in tax credit (unless of course you don't pay taxes at all). While the vehicle may save you money per tank, the overall cost for the hybrid analyzed over the life of vehicle ownership projects higher costs for comparable coverage and usage.

Like I wrote before, hybrids and green technology constitute more of a status symbol than a real solution. People buy them so they can boast that they're doing their part to save the planet. Anyone who buys one and claims they're saving money is an idiot and probably failed at math. It took me all of an hour to access and compute this data. The spreadsheet is available to anyone on request.