If Hybrid Automobiles are so good for the environment...?

Question

why are they so expensive? Shouldn't the government encourage ppl to buy these cars by making them cheaper?

http://www.articleated.com/Article/Some-Benefits-Of-Hybrid-Automobiles/734

Answer 1

the government should keep out of the marketplace. everytime they get involved artificially managing it, we lose.

Answer 2

They are not as good as the Bicycle though.  I chuckle at these hybrid car and Smart car weenies as I bicycle past them.

Answer 3

In Canada they do.  You pay a gas guzzler tax on big cars and trucks and that is used to give a tax rebate on fuel efficient & hybrid cars and trucks.

Answer 4

They are more expensive because they have two power trains, one Gasoline powered  and one electric powered.

Hybrids are only a stop gap method anyway. Battery technology will advance because of the use of batteries in Hybrids. When battery technology is good enough plug in electric vehicles will become the norm for commuting and running most errands.

Answer 5

Market forces. they are more expensive because not as many people buy them. If (its a big if) more people buy them, prices will drop. Face it, the infrastructure is set up for internal combustion engines. This will take lots of changing and time.

There are some govt encouragements.. a federal tax credit, some states offer access to carpool lanes, even some cities offer special parking.

It will take time, the idea is on the upswing.

Answer 6

the government does give different ways to make them more affordable such as tax write offs etc. but if you think about it they already are very affordable for those who need to be driving them such as me I drive 50 plus miles to work every day that's 100 miles i would spend on average at least 55 dollars a week in gas which is about $220 a month

your average car payment, and the electric cars cost about $350 a month in payments minus gas that's only $130 a month much more affordable.

Answer 7

Yes, the government should provide tax rebates on hybrids.  They do to some degree.  The Prius started out with a $3500 rebate, which was cut to $1750 about a year ago.  I think that's still where the rebate stands.  Some hybrids don't even qualify for the rebate because the models don't sufficiently improve on gas mileage to meet the standards.  Some hybrids use the second engine to increase power rather than mileage, and to qualify for the rebate you have to increase the car/truck/SUV's mileage over the same non-hybrid model by a certain percentage.

I certainly agree that the government should be increasing the tax incentive, not decreasing it.  They have to get the money from somewhere though - the larger the tax rebate, the more people will buy a hybrid and the amount of money they need to cover the rebate gets much bigger very quickly.  That's the idea though - they should be incouraging as many people as possible to buy hybrids!

Answer 8

becouse they cost a little more to make and if you want to save your wallet later, you gotta pay more now.       so it just balances out. another way for car companies to make money.