What everyone it seems keeps missing about hybrids n electrics
I thought it worth mentioning in the subject line electric vehicles since both they and hybrids use large, expensive battery packs, therefore resulting in the same long term issues.
I notice that most of the claims here for hybrids being worth the extra cost are by actual owners who have only 3 to 5 yrs of use of their vehicles before trading them in for a new one. Of course battery replacement won't be an issue for them since they don't keep the car long enough for it to wear out.
An important fact that seems to get ignored in these discussions is that not everyone buys every car they own new from the dealer. In fact used car sales far outnumber new. A hybrid that hits the used car market with only a few years left on the battery pack won't be worth near as much as it's conventionally powered counterpart. How many of us drive cars that are over 10 years old or have more than 100K miles? Today's gasoline engined cars easily reach 150 to 200K miles before they need an engine rebuild (which would be for the most part a comparable cost to a battery pack replacement). Those who are best able to afford the inevitable battery replacement will be more likely to buy new, not used. Next, the poor do actually exist and in far greater numbers than the well-to-do. The poor cannot now and probably not ever afford a hybrid new nor replace the battery in a used hybrid. That means that they will most likely be buying used conventionally powered vehicles.
The end result is that used hybrids will thus be more likely to end up in a junk yard sooner than their gasoline powered counterparts, negating any efforts to alter the percentage of hybrids on the roads in any lasting significant way.
