How much does it cost to save a gallon of gas?
This is a tough question, but it is the question we need to ask of all approaches to energy independence or CO2 reduction. For reference, ethanol costs over $7 per gallon saved in subsidies to corn farmers and ethanol producers (mostly producers).
Hybrids do better. A Toyota Prius hybrid would save fossil gallons at a cost of about $3/gallon. To be specific, if you own one for five years, you will save 882 gallons of gas and it will cost you $2,744 dollars more than if you bought a Toyota Corolla LE non-hybrid and drove the same 75,000 miles.
That's right. It costs more, even though you buy less gas, because the cars cost more. This is based on a cost study by Consumer Reports, which includes initial cost, depreciation, insurance, maintenance, financing and resale. It also assumes an average price of gas over the five years of $2.58.
zfacts.com
"oyota has a hybrid deal for you
Toyota Prius.jpgThe Wall Street Journal's Holman Jenkins has this clever column ($) today in the form of a fictional letter from Toyota to owners of its popular hybrid vehicle, the Prius. The main point of Jenkins' column is that hybrid technology is not really "green" technology at all. Rather, it's really just an expensive option that generates large markups for Toyota and its dealers. In so doing, Jenkins notes the following about the notion that a hybrid's supposed fuel efficiency makes up for its higher cost:
Let us assure you that the Prius remains one of the most fuel-efficient cars on the road. Toyota applauds your willingness to spend $9,500 over the price of any comparable vehicle for the privilege of saving, at current gasoline prices, approximately $580 a year.
And should the price of gasoline rise to $5, after 10 years and/or 130,000 miles of driving, you might even come close to breaking even on your investment in hybrid technology."
blog.kir.com
Cars, carbon, and Kyoto: evaluating an emission charge and other policy instruments as incentives for a transition to hybrid cars in New Zealand
B. B. Gleisner
S. A. Weaver
Environmental Studies, Institute of Geography
School of Earth Sciences
Victoria University of Wellington
PO Box 600
Wellington, New Zealand
Abstract Transition to hybrid petrol/electric vehicles (HEVs) is one means among many of reducing carbon emissions pursuant to the New Zealand emissions reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol. The potential financial incentive value of an emissions charge was evaluated by comparing purchase and running costs of an HEV with an equivalent petrol-fuelled car. Had a carbon tax of $15/tonne CO2 operated in January 2006, the net fuel efficiency saving on the basis of the emissions charge and the inbuilt fuel efficiency of the HEV amounted to $655.50 annually for an HEV. When compared with a $7000 purchase price differential in favour of petrol-fuelled vehicles, it can be concluded the proposed carbon tax would not have provided a sufficient incentive to bring about any significant change in the distribution of HEVs across the market. Shifting the norm to a higher proportion of fuel-efficient cars will therefore require other incentives and/or policy mechanisms. We explore alternative policy options for bringing about such a shift, including the option of a tradable vehicle emission permit system.
rsnz.org |
