Although I support the idea of short term cost, for long term savings, I have to question if you’ll really save money or not.

Doing some quick math, and comparing a VW TDI to a Honda Insight, with the TDI at 47 MPG and the Insight at 57, and an average travel of 15,000 miles a year, at $2.25 a gallon…

That would save me a whole $126 in a years time. But those hybrids are nearly $3000 more expensive. I’d have to keep the car 23 years to save that much off milage savings to offset the cost of the purchase. Further, Diesel is normally, not always, but on average, cheaper than regular gas.

But it doesn’t end there, after 9 years, your warrenty is up, so you pay for repairs. One bad hybrid battery is anywhere from $1000 if your lucky, to $4000 that some have had to pay. One bad battery will eat the saveings in gas for 8 years! And most hybrids have 4 to 8 of them… talk about saving money?

Further, once you start paying for repairs, the dealership will have you, because you can’t go anywhere else. They know you can’t get any garage to do a simple $50 brake job, because of your hybrid regenerating brakes, no one knows how to work on them. The dealer will milk you steady for it.

Good luck to you though. As for me, I think if (God forbid) I end up with a family, I’ll likely go for a VW Turbo Diesel Wagon. It carries 5 people, holds as much as most mid-size SUVs, gets 50 miles to the gallon, and is cheaper than nearly all hybrids, while having a lower cost of onwership. And when you have to start paying for repairs, you can take it anywhere, or even do it yourself. (Like I do)

My 3 cents, Love your comic. Later.