Hybrids are NOT the answer

I've discussed the use of hybrid cars with friends, etc. quite often. Recently more and more often. The general idea is that by getting A hybrid you are somehow helping the environment. I disagree with this 100%. You may indeed be buying slightly less gas, but you are still buying it. The oil companies KNOW that something has to be done, and Hybrids allow them to continue to make money. There is also a distinct reason why the car companies are pushing the idea as well.. They get a bigger cut. Instead of that money going to the oil companies, it will now go to the automakers for their more expensive hybrid models.

I put this spreadsheet together a couple years ago where I compare the total cost of several cars... this would the car payment and the average amount spent on gas in a month. Unfortunately I cannot attach files to this page. If you want to see it, feel free to e-mail me. I will gladly share it.

Anyway, let me just share some numbers with you that came from this sheet. I calculated the average car payment from the general rule of thumb of $200 for every $10k of total price. I estimated the price of the car based on the MSRP (Going about $1000 below MSRP for your standard cars, and right about at MSRP for Hybrids, which is what you would see in a real world situation) the rest is based on about 15000 miles driven per year and gas prices at $3 a gallon.

Based upon those assumptions you will be paying an average of $2000 more a year to own an Accord Hybrid than you would just an Accord EX 4 Cylinder. Getting a Civic EX Rather than a Hybrid will save you $575 a year and $500 a year will be saved if you bought it instead of a Prius. True.. at $3 a gallon you will be spending about $30-50 less a month on gas, but you will be more than making up for that in what you will be giving to the car companies.

So, basically with a Hybrid you are STILL forking money over to oil companies. It may be less, but they are still getting your money. Meanwhile you are shoveling so much more money to the car makers that you are actually spending MORE per year total. So... you are telling me I should feel great about hybrids because I am replacing one evil with another.. not just replacing, but ADDING MORE COST. Oil companies are still getting your cash, and car companies are getting even MORE of it. Is there any mystery why both of them are pushing us into the idea that these things are the answer??

Environmentalists will tell you that buying a Hybrid will help. The better gas mileage, the less fuel is burned, etc. While this may indeed be true, how much of an impact is buying an Accord Hybrid (with the same EPG MPG as the 4 cylinder) really making.. uh none at all would be the right answer to that question. A Prius, though one of the ugliest and possibly most uncomfortable cars ever made might be consuming gas at an outstanding 55 MPG, it is still running on gas. The umbilical cord to oil has to be cut totally for any real impact on the environment to truly be felt. We have had electric cars on the market.. where'd they go.. oh yeah, the car makers replaced them with hybrids. (there are many reasons why. Who Killed the Electric Car? is a GREAT movie about this). Please be smart people. The Hybrid cars are not the answer, an alternate fuel is the answer. Amazingly we already have 2 perfectly good alternatives that are ready to go RIGHT NOW... no waiting until 2030 for Hydrogen.. I am talking about Biodiesel and Electric. We have the technology and infrastructure to move forward RIGHT NOW with both of these. What we do not have is support from automakers and the government. We the people are the only ones that can make it happen... sadly every time someone buys a hybrid automobile we are just prolonging our attachment to oil.