Payoff for Efficient Cars Takes Years

This one from the National Center for Policy Analysis cracks me up. I shouldn’t laugh – the poor doofuses who buy those cars are just acting on what they’ve learned via the media and pop culture.

Facing rising gas prices, American auto consumers are increasingly flocking to hybrids and plug-in cars as a means to escape the financial pain. However, studies incorporating mileage performance and costs associated with different models suggest that many of these options do not yield sufficient savings to justify the upfront price premium, says the New York Times.

Consumer patterns in car use and reasonable expectations of future gas prices suggest strongly that many of these models would have to be driven for many years before purchasers would break even.

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