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Smug Alert

I drive a hybrid -- a made-in-the-USA, Ford Escape Hybrid. I get 32-35 MPG in normal mixed driving.

My former car only got 15 MPG (on a good day), so my fuel usage has been cut in half. The economic impact?

Here's a breakdown of how that impacts my bottom line:


Basically, gas has to get to over $5.75/gallon for me to get back to where my annual fuel bill was 2 years ago. The savings on gas have already paid for the so-called "premium" of buying a hybrid (vs. a standard gas-powered vehicle)... and by the end of this year, will have paid for the extended service package I also bought -- which takes care of all the maintenance costs. (Well, actually, the tax credit I got for buying the car paid for that... but assuming I hadn't gotten any tax incentive, which you don't on any model that has had sales over 50K in a year.)

All this means is that I'm better able to absorb the higher costs for food and other items -- to a point, of course.














Price (gallon)Old CarHybridSavings
$2.50$1,333$625$708
$2.75$1,467$688$779
$3.00$1,600$750$850
$3.25$1,731$813$921
$3.50$1,867$875$992
$3.75$2,000$938$1,063
$4.00$2,133$1,000$1,133
$4.25$2,267$1,063$1,204
$4.50$2,400$1,125$1,275
$4.75$2,533$1,188$1,346
$5.00$2,667$1,250$1,417
$6.00$3,200$1,500$1,700
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