First, this sentence is nothing but cheerleading prose from the media.
Second, they do not tell you that it will add $10,000 to the price of an automobile. So, you will save money at the pump, but lose money overall because it is more than offset by an increase in the price of the vehicle!
“Second, they do not tell you that it will add $10,000 to the price of an automobile. “
Interesting to put it in numbers. Let’s assume an average driver, driving a Ford Focus. That driver does around 15k miles a year, and gets 30mpg. That driver keeps the car 10 years, and the price of gas averages $5/gallon for the life of the car.
That’s 500 gallons of gas to go 15000 miles at $5/gal. = $2500 in gas, or $25,000 in gas for 10 years.
Now assume the driver pays an extra $10k for a new Focus that gets 54.5 mpg. That’s 275 gallons of gas to go 15000 miles. Or, $1375 a year. In 10 years it’s $13,750 in gas cost.
So, for the new improved Focus it will cost you $23,750, versus $25,000 for the old Focus. But, using an ugly interest environment of 2%, the $10k upfront is worth $12,190. That results in new Focus $12,190 cash cost + $13,750 fuel cost = $25,940 vs. $25,000 for the old Focus.
So, in reality, you will pay an extra $940 minimum, for the privilege of getting better gas mileage.
Your mileage may vary.
Sounds like when they're trying to sell you those new shitty washers.
"Oh, it'll save you hundreds on water over the next 10 years if you pay us an extra thousand now, plus live with a badly designed machine that costs $$$$$ to fix."