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Current Events » in reply to S.U.V.'s DOA.....

re: S.U.V.'s DOA.....
p — (archived)

Will it REALLY make a difference to SUV owners? These are folks who pay upwards of $35,000 for their SUVs. Let's say the average SUV costs $40K.

Let's worst case assume that gas prices go up $1 a gallon more than folks 'are comfortable with, say from $2 to $3 a gallon and stay there. If the avg SUV gets 15 mpg vs an average small sedan at 25 mpg, a penalty of 10 mpg someone driving 10,000 miles per year buys an extra 1,000 gallons of gas, paying an SUV penalty of $1,000 per year. Not a big # compared to the base cost of the vehicle averaged over its life.

Interestingly comparing a 15mpg SUV to a theoretical 35mpg SUV-hybrid, gives the owner a $2K per year benefit. Probably enough to motivate someone to spend an extra few $K for the hybrid. Question is...how reliable are the hybrids over a multi-year timeframe? Would expensive battery etc. systems fail and need replacement?

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