The new RAV4 Hybrid is only going to be an $800 premium over the equivalent gas versions. Perhaps the future is now....

 

i don't usually comment on these threads as i think they're a waste of time, but up a dollar in 2 months, wow... that adds up.

 

Good point. There is some threshold where we can ignore break-even, honestly? I think $800 falls within that threshold. Example, back in the day, I thought nothing about $1,400 for a sport package (how does one measure what side bolsters on seats, staggered tires, stiffer shocks/springs, and an external oil cooler actually do, and the break-even? There isn't any).

touché and that is good news!

 

I calculated a 36 month break-even point on my Highlander Hybrid and I'm at 32 months now. Since we got ours, the price premium for the hybrid went down drastically, so yes, a break-even point is absolutely possible for the hybrids.

 

they have the reward of 'moral superiority'

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think both gasoline and heating oil (generally diesel?) is just crude refined differently for different purposes. So if more crude is allocated to be refined into heating oil, the effects of less driving is offset by higher demand for heating oil. I wouldnt know about less driving in NY anyways since its traffic sun or snow.

 

can often come from different oil sources, refined at different refineries, so it's not all interchangeable.

 

People let their cars idle more in the winter so that they can warm up.

Who lets a dead battery stop them? You typically just jump it and move on. I can't imagine engines failing to start is a big enough issue to impact gas prices, at least not in any car made in my lifetime.

And those people whose cars in the shop after an accident typically drive a rental. They don't just sit at home and do nothing until their car is fixed. Unless they live somewhere with a robust public transportation system, they are still driving something during that time.

 

I like the technical sophistication of my RX hybrid but getting better city mileage is not the reason I enjoy the car. Yes, I suppose the gas savings will pay for the incremental purchase price and/or the possibility of higher maintenance expense, and then some. But I just love the smoothness, with no up or down-shifting. And the utter calm at traffic lights with the ICE turned off.

It's like how I appreciate the new GE9x jet engines used on the new Boeing 777 because they represent the pinnacle of efficiency in terms of thrust versus fuel consumption. A lot of intelligent research went into their design.

By the way gas here in Oregon is about $2.50 at Costco.

 

For the last couple of years, I'd agree, as gas prices in the U.S. have generally been stable, but this is the first significant increase I've seen in a while.

 

My commute is going to be reduced by about 13 miles and 30 minutes each way. I'll take it as it translates to $913/yr. conservatively. If this were 2016, it would only be a $587 savings. On the one hand I do have the "nothing I can do about it" when it comes to fuel, but on the other hand I like to be aware...at some point the time is worth more than money, that varies by person but imho the turning point is somewhere between 35-50, so that extra hour per day is also important.

So benefits in order.....1 60 min per day recoup'd 2 6000 miles less wear/tear on the LS430 3 $913 in fuel saved (this goes down if premium goes down in price)

 

Yup, after a year of slow decline, we are beginning to see a slow lifting in prices.

 

Just paid $2.79 for premium here in the Denver metro area and it's up almost a quarter over this time last week.
Thankfully my wife works from home and I have only a couple mile commute and we only really drive our RX when the weather is bad or at least once a week otherwise we drive our Ford Focus which gets 28mpg around town so I can't complain too much.

 

We're still seeing regular at around $2/gallon. Relatively low state taxes and lack of a special blend seem to keep our prices low. One thing I did notice on the last couple of trips to California is that I get about 2 mpg better on Arizona gas than on California gas. Could it be that their special low emissions blend has less energy per gallon?

 

In Europe, the prices of fuel goes up on a regular basics.

We have actually aour 5.74 $ a gallon, and we know fuel is actually extremely low priced on the market. There is no single reason for that high price, just that oil companies want to make profit.

Until know, USA seemed to be an exception on the chess board. Maybe, now, industry will start to milk you as unfairly as everyone else ? (just an hyphotesis though).