Seen an article in the paper where people are paying $5000 over MSRP just to get a new Ford Hybrid vehicle.

The general manager at the Ford dealership said " Yes its true, people want our new hybrid so bad they are willing to pay up to $5000 over sticker to get it" He was trying to make it sound like it was the buyers idea to pay more for the car.

The real deal is, is that the Ford store is jacking the price up $5000 because they know some people are crazy enough to pay it

 

if the resource is scarce and people are willing to pay for it, why not?

 

capitalism at its best!

 

Ahhhh...gougery.....supply and demand at its "finest!"


Clover

 

Well..if people have the money and they want something bad enough, they'll pay for it.

Prime example is the MINI - here in So Cal, we all know that MOST - not all - of the dealerships charge WAY over MSRP and people pay it.

Donna

 

Not all of us. Some of us smarter ones know how to shop.

 

Loook at the $ saved in gas and the math just doesn't add up to a sound financial decision. Almost all the hybrids are sold in CA and it is as much a fad as anything. Don't get me wrong I think hybrids are a good idea but the $s over sticker means you are buying for another reason other than personal economics.

 

People who are willing to spend more money on a Hybrid than a MINI clearly haven't spent much time driving a MINI on twisties. While Hybrids appear to get great fuel economy, if you drive one like a MINI, you'd be surprised. Some of my friends who use cars to commute long distances get as much as 36mpg in MINI Coopers, driving quickly. Same speeds in a Honda and Prius Hybrids are showing barely 42mpg. Sounds like a big difference until you realize that a MINI Cooper costs $21,000, the Prius closer to $26,000 and the Honda a whopping $36,000! When you factor in the gas savings vs maintenance costs, extra capital needed to purchase the car in the first place, and worst of all, the extra interest payments, a hybrid doesn't come out on top. That and no hybrid can top a MINI for cornering and braking power, cuteness or parking ability!

:smile:

 

While i agree on the hybrids being more of a fad at this point than actually a means to save on gas, I just wanted to point out that this test isn't a good one for a hybrid. If you plan on taking lots of long hwy trips a hybrid will definitely not be for you as, from my understanding anyway, the hybrids are meant for city driving as they have the regenerative braking systems that charge their batteries, so if you aren't doing a lot of braking, you are going to use your batteries fairly quickly and will then just run on gas, which will kill your milage

 

As a proud owner of a Honda Insight, I can say that hybrids can work great if you use them right. We have 80k miles on our 2000 model and have a lifetime mpg of 64.6 mpg. Over that time, we've used about 1240 gallons of gas while a 30 mpg car used 2670 gallons. That's a savings of over $3K at $1.50 a gallon. Now think of what an SUV would be. Add the $2000 tax break for the 1st year and it starts making sense. The battery should last 100-150k miles and costs about $1500, add a couple other components Honda will want you to replace while you replace the battery and it probably comes out to $3k-$4k. By that time, you've already saved another $3000+ on gas mileage again. It's not a car that most people would want but it fits perfectly in our household. The body will last forever and the I expect the engine to last over 200k miles.

That said, I agree that most hybrids aren't worth it. The reason I believe the Insight is worth it is because Honda looses money on every Insight sold. It was made for a showcase of technology and to grab the highest gas mileage title in the States. Your paying for a 3 cylinder aluminum body car and they throw the electric assist in for free (basically). Right now, you can get one for $19k. The premium you have to pay on most cars to make them a hybrid is just crazy for the extra 5 or 10 mpg. Get a diesel if you want good gas mileage.

Mandaboo, My dad took a trip in it from Jacksonville, FL to Pittsburgh, PA and got over 72 mpg - all highway. Also, it's true they use regenerative braking but they also have a trickle charge while your driving. If you use the barrery a lot and drain it, the car will charge the battery to 2/3 even while your on the gas. It uses the electric motor as a generator so you don't need to be on the brakes to charge.

 

Is there a true Hummer dealer? I'd love to see the line of people in front of the place waiting for the doors to open. And I don't give squat about gas mileage.

 

I think I have a pretty good grip on how supply and demand works. As far as any hybrid car or SUV goes, or any new car for that matter, you must keep the car several years to recoup the cost of MSRP plus the extra markup that the dealer WILL charge because he knows he can get away with it, or as some would say, supply and demand.

In the case of the Ford dealer, the $5000 markup pays for lots of fuel. That being said, sure if you buy a Hummer or other large vehicle the $5000 at the current rate of gas going up, will equal out in short order, but if you buy most small compacts, the MINI being one of em, the $5000 extra you spend just to get a hybrid, takes quite abit longer to justify buying the hybrid.

I really like the Toyota hybrid. Most of the car magazines are pretty big on it, but I sure would not sell my MCS to get more miles per gallon from the Toyota, Honda or Ford. Just my .02cents:smile:

 

The "hybrid" garbage is a joke. It still runs on some gas here, people!!!!


Fuel cells and hydrogen cars are the wave of the future, stop wasting you money on something that will be obsolete in 10 years!!

 

I agree. Our Insight will be retired when we get a fuel cell vehicle...whenever that comes (i.e. when there isn't a Bush in office ). Until then, I'll gladly fill up every 2 weeks (300+ miles a week) with 10 gallons.

 

Theres a company coming into Akron, Ohio now that is working on producing and converting cars to hydrogen cars. I'mt hinking about looking into the price of a hydrogen conversion for my mini here in the coming months.... nothing like a car that cost NOTHING to run during college!!!!


i think my dads interested in a hydrogen ,or hybrid at the very least, S10 to drive to work injstead of his f150.