The Bottom Line

The recent column by Roger Simon about his purchase of Prius, reminded of a recent program I heard on NPR. The segment was the dangerous ways people are trying to save on gas and the safe alternatives that people can actually implement. The guy they interviewed was very reasonable and described things like checking your tires for air and not driving above 70 mph that would make people pay less for gas, he then had the audacity to suggest that hybrids might just be as good at fuel efficiency as some typical cars, like the Civic. The host on the other hand kept reminding us of what the bottom line was:
1. The cost
2. Environmental impact.
It was kind of maddening to listen to, since yes the environment is important, but I'm not going to go bankrupt trying to save it. I don't have the luxury of the NPR host to pick and overpriced hybrid car. The complete obliviousness is staggering.
Here is Simon's money quote:

If you do the math, our hybrid purchases still seem to be driven by that aforementioned “self-satisfaction” rather than by true energy savings. But that math is precariously close to the tipping point, especially if you keep your car for a period of time.