More on green transportation

(Editor’s Note: Reading last week’s column by Cory made one reader take exception.)

Last column Cory noted:
As it stands right now hybrids are not a practical money saver. That's right, trying to save money is not a good reason to buy a hybrid. Actually, the opposite may be true. With what you have to spend on any hybrid above and beyond what you spend for a comparable traditional gas powered vehicle, the saving just do not ad up. Here is an example: the topselling hybrid and the symbol of the hybrid movement is the Toyota Prius with claims of up to 50 MPG. The purchase cost of a new Prius is about $25,000. Right now used ones are actually selling for more because of short supply. A similar sized combustion motor vehicle is the Toyota Corolla with a rating of 34 MPG highway. It sells for about $17,000 for a basic model. That's a $7,000 swing. Lets say you are average and drive around 15,000 miles per year; the Corolla's annual fuel cost at $4.00 per gallon would be $1,764. The Pruis at the same useage would cost $1,200 per year saving you $564 per year. At this rate it will take you 12.4 years to just get even. Most people do not keep a vehicle for 12 years and 180,000. To me the economics to not make sense, however if it is a green thing then it may be worth it to you. All I am saying is it has to be about more than the money to make a hybrid work for you. Good luck and good shopping.

But annonymous said:
Now try it with an Aptera (www.aptera.com) vs. Corolla. The hybrid Aptera is going to cost about $30k. But, it gets 300 mpg. So under your assumptions, you are going to be using 5 gallons of gas a year (score one for the environmentalists). So you would be saving $1,744 per year. It would become economically efficient by the end of the eighth year to own an Aptera vehicle. And some battery manufacturers are claiming to get 2000 cycles on their batteries before their is a significant decrease in their capacity. The batteries would last about six years if you charged them every day. Every other day, and they last 12 years, meaning that you would save almost $9k by the time you have to replace the batteries. Surely enough to cover the replacement cost and then some.

And Cory’s response:
Dear Anonymous,

Thank you for your interest in automobiles, the environment and this blog. Though I think your infatuation with the Aptera vs. any current automobile is a little premature. Looking into this vehicle; I say vehicle instead of a car because it is classified as a motorcycle and not a car, it may or may not be available for public consumption until 2009, will only be available in California, and is currently not suitable for higher elevations or hilly terrain. This vehicle reminds be of the Honda Insight, impractical, quirky looking and not able to move much more than two people, except the Insight was mass produced by Honda who already had a network of dealerships in place. Aptera has no plans for dealerships. Please do not get me wrong. Concepts are where it all begins and the Insight beckoned in a whole new generation of automobiles known as “Hybrids” and will always have its place in history, however impractical it was. It will also be interesting to see just how much the concept bends to reality when the Aptera does become available to the public. Most prototypes change quite a bit when faced with the realities of the real road. Please also remember that the belief that a plug in vehicle is the Holy Grail of eco-friendly vehicles may also be a little off base. Plugging in will not produce pollution at your house, it may not create pollution on the road, but it does produce pollution some where. Coal, gas or nuclear power is producing that electricity that your vehicle is drinking in, so the pollution may not be near
by, however it is still happening. Also, they claim that the Aptera will only cost $2.00 or so to charge overnight, well that’s $730 dollars per year added to your fuel costs, plus gas, plus daily charges. Again as we grow into cleaner electricity, like wind and hydro, the plug in factor will grow cleaner, but it will also grow more expensive. A vehicle that produces its own energy, like a
Hybrid or a Hydrogen car is ultimately cleaner than any vehicle that is dependent on an outside source. That vehicle is simply moving the pollution rather than eliminating it. Like I said before I am not anti-Hybrid or any alternative fuel vehicle. I am simply stating that they are not yet in the position to claim economical superiority. In reality, if being green is your motivating factor, a Hybrid or Hydrogen vehicle are great choices, even better than a plug in, because they produce their own energy. But I will tell you, we are many years away from the Hybrid being the choice of economy. Sorry, being green will have to be enough for now. Good luck and good shopping. Have a great one.

Cory the Car Guy