With $2 Gas, the Toyota Prius Is for Drivers Who Stink at Math

An early Christmas gift of insight for the purposeful consumer who follows the Environmental Fashions...
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From Businessweek.com:

All this is a major problem for anyone trying to sell hybrid and electric vehicles.

Electric engines and their massive batteries have never been cheap.

A big part of the sales equation—savings at the fuel pump—has virtually vanished...

It would take almost 30 years of fuel savings from the hybrid Prius to cover its price premium over the little Chevy Cruze, although that doesn't account for the Chevy buyer making savvy investments with her savings in the meantime.

It doesn't matter, since we will all be flying around in futuristic Teslas before the Prius pays off...

The Cruze gets a respectable 30 miles per gallon of combined highway and city driving, but its real strength is relative affordability.

Without a second engine and a massive battery, the average Cruze had a $21,322 sticker price last month, compared with almost $31,973 for a Prius and $32,933 for a Leaf.

Even after federal tax breaks, Cruze buyers start with an advantage of $8,151 over the Prius and $4,111 over the Leaf.

That’s a lot of gas money...
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Link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-12-10/with-2-gas-the-toyota-prius-is-for-drivers-who-stink-at-math#r=rss