Prius Mods: $7500

[akdiver 3]

Prius types pay $7,500 to ditch gas

...The plug-in conversion costs about $7,500....

So, $7,500 to convert your car to electric.

Let's consider our 2007 Chevy Aveo in comparison.

We only paid $8000 for the whole car, out the door, brand new!

Around the city it gets 20MPG or so. At $4.00/gallon, that's about 20 cents/mile.

We put about 6,000 miles/year on this vehicle. That comes out to about $1200/year in gas.

Even at $5/gallon, that's about $1500/year in gas.

Considering ONLY the $7500 "conversion" fee for the Prius in the article, using these figures, we would have to wait over 6 years just to break even on the cost. If the batteries have to be replaced in those six years (strong likelihood), the break even point is even further down the road.

If you consider the higher cost of the Prius relative to the Aveo, the break even point is even FURTHER down the road.

Bottom line: For saving money, better off with a hyper cheap gas burner than a much more expensive electric.

Edited September 30, 2008 by akdiver

[one...two...tree 2,762]

If saving money is your only perogative.

[akdiver 3]

If saving money is your only perogative.

If you don't want to save a lot of money, feel free to send it to me.

The perspective in the article was clearly about saving money - in this case, saving money on gas.

"Hybrid technology is one thing. Then there is plug-in hybrid technology, which is the next step, which genuinely removes your dependence on fossil fuel," said Coquillette.

I love the short-sightedness. Yeah - you remove your dependence on fossil fuel - as long as the electricity you're using wasn't generated by a coal-fired, gas, or diesel power plant. Most U.S. electricity is created from burning fossil fuels -- about 70 percent Edited September 30, 2008 by akdiver