Edmunds.com's Senseless Hybrid Vehicle Cost Study

The extra costs of hybrid cars do not pay for themselves in 5 years according to a new study by Edmunds.com. For a respectable car research company, I found the study to be, well, silly.

The biggest problem that I have with the report is that it assumes drivers drive mostly on the highway. Yet, according to government studies, city driving is the new norm. If you live in Los Angeles, for example, you might drive on a highway, but you don't drive the speed limit on the highway. Instead, traffic turns highway driving into city driving, and according to transportation experts, traffic is not only becoming the norm for more and more Americans, it is expected to get much worse year after year.

The future of America is traffic and stop-and-go driving conditions. It is under these conditions that hybrids, such as the Prius and Escape hybrid, excel. Edmunds, like the EPA, needs to utilize the real world driving habits of the majority.

Additionally, if the price of gas goes up, the Edmunds study would be greatly affected, and recent reports show that oil refinement capacity isn't only a problem for the U.S., but the world. Gas prices are certain to go higher in the years to come. And what happens if a big hurricane knocks out Gulf of Mexico refinement capacity (Experts are predicting a major hurricane season this year.)?

The U.S. is playing with fire. To think terrorists do not realize this vulnerability is extremely naive. Besides, Americans are already fighting and dying in the Middle East so that other Americans can gas guzzle and grossly pollute the environment. If the 'real costs' of foreign oil dependency were added to the cost of gas guzzlers, or gasoline, the upside of hybrids becomes much clearer.

Still, under the best circumstances, gas prices are going up, and if a hurricane or terrorist act disrupts refinement, prices will skyrocket. Will that be good for the economy and America?

So, go ahead, listen to Edmunds.com. Don't pay for the newest technology that significantly improves fuel efficiency and reduces pollution, while offering greater performance. It isn't worth it.

Instead, buy your gas-guzzler and help fund terrorism. It's cheaper - at least today - and who really cares about tomorrow?