And no, hybrids don't save money, not for 90% of people (the extra cost isn't outweighed by gas savings for years of normal use - which is why it MIGHT be advantageous to taxicab drivers, who drive a lot in urban areas where hybrids get the biggest savings).
Wrong.
A civic hybrid costs you about $4,000 more than a similarly equipped gasoline-engine Civic.
Federal tax credit on a 2006 Honda Civic: $2,100. And that's a
credit, not deduction. We've already cut the cost of owning a hybrid to $1,900 over the alternative.
How long does it take you to make up that $1,900?
Well, a hybrid gets about ten miles more per gallon than the standard Civic (assuming 50/50 highway-to-city driving). You only need about 125,000 miles at $3 a gallon to make that up, even fewer if you're living in a place like California where $4 a gallon is more the norm. (You only need 100k miles to make it up then.)
Poll
