Whether a prius or other hybrid is economical depends on a lot of assumptions, such as how long you intend to keep it, what the price of gas is going to do, what the price of thin film solar panels is going to do, etc.
Say you like to keep a car for 10 years, as I do. If you assume a straight line on gas prices (93.6% increase in the last ten years) the price at the end of that time will be $4.51 per gallon, or an average price of $3.42 per gallon over the whole life. Using just this past year's increase (around 20%) gives gas at $14.50 per gallon at the end of ten years.
If anyone tells you they know what gas prices are going to do, ask them how they are doing on gas futures. All numbers come from DOE, and I just used July 18ish 2005, 2004, and 1995.
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Say you like to keep a car for 10 years, as I do. If you assume a straight line on gas prices (93.6% increase in the last ten years) the price at the end of that time will be $4.51 per gallon, or an average price of $3.42 per gallon over the whole life. Using just this past year's increase (around 20%) gives gas at $14.50 per gallon at the end of ten years.
If anyone tells you they know what gas prices are going to do, ask them how they are doing on gas futures. All numbers come from DOE, and I just used July 18ish 2005, 2004, and 1995.