Toyota hybrids rip off consumers

Economic comparison of hybrids vs. non-hybrids. Pity the poor unsuspecting Toyota buyer

The chart to the right shows how many years it takes to recoup the added premium a car buyer must pay to get a hybrid version of Saturn, Ford, Mercury, Honda, Toyota and Lexus models. The poor unsuspecting Toyota buyers are getting the shaft the worse with the Prius Hybrid taking 17.9 years for the buyer to recoup their money (like the car will last that long. And is the Prius dangerously narrow when another driver runs a stop sign and hits you broadside? Ouch.).

The Camry Hybrid will take 12.1 years to break even and the Toyota Highlander Hybrid 11.3 years. Few people keep their cars that long today.

One long-term consideration when buying a hybrid is the relatively untested maintenance history of battery packs. If a hybrid battery fails, it will be quite expensive to replace — likely at least $5,000 and perhaps as high as $10,000 depending on the drivetrain's complexity, says Jack Nerad, editorial director of auto research firm Kelley Blue Book.

Fortunately, hybrids have experienced few, if any, major repair problems over the past few years. And while consumers may consider these vehicles new, they've actually been in production for a while, giving manufacturers time to refine them. The first Prius hit the road in 1997 in Japan and came to the U.S. in 2000.

Most hybrids come with long warranties on their powertrain technologies — eight years or 100,000 miles for the Prius — that cover potential foul-ups. Still, after the warranties end, it's unclear what problems might crop up in an expensive battery pack. There's no experience with this since few, if any, people have owned a Prius for more than eight years.

A spokesman for Toyota says the company placed extended warranties on the Prius to address just such uncertainty but adds that issues with the vehicles' batteries have been "virtually nonexistent." He says the company actually expects Prius batteries to live well beyond the eight-year warranty.

Other Factors

Auto makers are gradually pushing toward electric plug-in hybrids, which will allow drivers to recharge a battery with a traditional outlet and go much further on electric power alone. Such cars could be a "game changer" that eventually displaces conventional hybrids, says Mike Jackson, chief executive of AutoNation Inc., of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., a nationwide dealership chain.

Another fuel-saver on the horizon: diesel.

Many Americans think of diesel engines as noisy and dirty, but the introduction of cleaner diesel fuel in the U.S. that can meet tough emissions standards promises less pollution and wider use. Auto makers are ramping up plans to put diesels in light-duty pickup trucks and passenger cars. And auto companies eventually may employ diesel-hybrids to really boost fuel economy. WSJ