Study Find Hybrids Quickly Pay For Themselves
A new study by Edmunds.Com finds that some hybrid cars will pay for themselves in 2 years, because high gas prices and tax credits from the U.S. government on the more fuel efficient vehicles. The cost is even more quickly recovered when hybrids are compared to less efficient cars. Also, the study assumes that gas prices will remain at $3 per gallon in the coming years. Edmunds says the average hybrid car costs $1,200 and $7,000 more than traditional versions of the same vehicles. The shift is significant because analysts have said that higher sticker prices were constraining hybrid sales. Hybrids currently account for 1 percent of new car sales in the United States. The consumer-focused Web site said that assuming vehicles were driven 15,000 miles per year and gas was priced at $3 per gallon, owners of the Toyota Prius and Ford Motor's Escape Hybrid would break even within three years. Buyers of the Saturn Vue Green Line from General Motors, the Toyota Camry and the Civic Hybrid f...