I was listening to a radio program about Hybrid cars. The two state of WI dealerships mentioned dealership battery replacement costs were decreasing to US$3000 and they figured they might reach US$1500 as new models hit the road over the coming years.
They talked about battery warranty and they figured they'd last 200,000 miles. I've had gasoline cars go 240,000 miles before rebuilding the engine, trany or differential exceeding the manufacture warranty. Something else they said about the Honda and Toyota were they could continue to run without the battery pack but with reduced fuel efficiency in the city. Resale value is still quite high for hybrids and diesels around my area although I'm having difficulty finding my older Geo Metro's but their around. I wouldn't mind a diesel or a E85 hybrid in a fuel efficient version for local use. I prefer my bicycle and limit my internal combustion use when needed. Thank you Mark. Enjoyed reading your thoughts. Thompson, Mark L. (PNB R&D) wrote: > > I don't how anyone can justify a Hybrid over a diesel. > > The financial numbers just don't work. > > My VW TDI gets (243K mile so far) > 45 mpg @ City Driving > 55 mpg @ 60 mph > 50 mpg @ 75 mph > > My cost is (City) $2.60/45 = 5.8 cents a mile (not including > normal maintenance) > My cost is (Freeway) $2.60/55 = 4.7 cents a mile (not including > normal maintenance) > Average 5.25 cents a mile (50/50 driving) > > My neighbors Prius gets > 55 mpg @ City Driving > 51 mpg @ 60 mph > > Cost is (City) $2.35/60 = 3.9 cents a mile (not including > normal maintenance) > Cost is (Freeway) $2.35/51 = 4.6 cents a mile (not including > normal maintenance) > Average 4.25 cents a mile (50/50 driving) > Plus Battery Deprecation > 8 year/100k miles/$7000 > $7000/100K = 7 cents/mile > > Total = 4.25 + 7.00 = 11.25 Cents/Miles > > > Converted to French fuel prices and Taxes: > http://www.day-tripper.net/pricespetrol.html > Diesel = 1.036 euro/Liter > Petro(95) = 1.209 euro/Liter > > Converted (1.19E/usd and 3.79 lt/gal) > Diesel = 1.036 * 1.19 * 3.79 = $4.67/gal > Petro = 1.209 * 1.19 * 3.79 = $5.45/gal > > My VW TDI gets (243K mile so far) > 45 mpg @ City Driving > 55 mpg @ 60 mph > 50 mpg @ 75 mph > > My cost is (City) $4.67/45 = 10.4 cents a mile (not including > normal maintenance) > My cost is (Freeway) $4.67/55 = 8.5 cents a mile (not including > normal maintenance) > Average 9.45 cents a mile (50/50 driving) > > My neighbors Prius gets > 55 mpg @ City Driving > 51 mpg @ 60 mph > > Cost is (City) $5.45/60 = 9.0 cents a mile (not including > normal maintenance) > Cost is (Freeway) $5.45/51 = 10.7 cents a mile (not including > normal maintenance) > Average 9.85 cents a mile (50/50 driving) > Plus Battery Deprecation > 8 year/100k miles/$7000/19%vat = $8330 > $8330/100K = 8.3 cents/mile > > Total = 9.85 + 8.30 = 18.15 Cents/Miles > > In the US and Europe a diesel is about 1/2 the operating cost of a > hybrid. > > Another thing to consider is maintenance/repair and life expectancy. > My last VW diesel Died a honable death at 476,000 miles. > My current one is at 243,000 miles and still running strong. > My guess is if you can get 200K-250K out of a hybrid gas engine you are > doing good. > > Also working on diesel is relatively straight forward. Will have to say > VW has coupled the computer to the engine quite tightly. It make for > interesting trouble shooting when things are not working perfectly. > > Mark > > Andrew Netherton wrote: > > >I'll bet that research would show a mighty quick return on investment > >if they had done the study based on European fuel costs, and not our > >cheaper-than-bottled-water fuel here in North America. > > > >Andrew Netherton > > > > _______________________________________________ > Biofuel mailing list > Biofuel@sustainablelists.org > http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org > > Biofuel at Journey to Forever: > http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > > Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): > http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/