'Only' 42? Good lord! what is WRONG with your friends (ok, maybe not friends, but people you drive around)? 42 is --so-- much better than most people get. That's just absurd.

 

I agree, the problem is, they dont accurately monitor their mpg.

So they think; "um, i get AROUND 30" - but really it maybe just 25 sitting in traffic. Non-hybrid owners are not detail oriented!

 

I actually went back and read this again, and the original author has linked to this site, and even mentioned us trashing him. Thankfully, rather than being defensive about it, it looks like some of the empirical data here combined with everything else has started to open his eyes about hybrids.

When hybrids first came out, the misconception that I heard most often was that people thought they needed to be plugged in. By the time that misconception was eradicated, people were modifing their cars so that they COULD be plugged in.

The next misconception we face is whether a hybrid produces a good return on the investment. That's such a dumb argument. Does the convertible that costs $10,000 more than the hardtop produce a good "return on your investment"? Does a $100,000 Mercedes produce a good "return on your investment" relative to a $25,000 Ford? When is a car ever "an investment" unless it's some rare classic collectible?

The only way the argument makes sense is if you do an apples to apples comparison. Not a well, the-Toyta-Yaris-gets-a-better-return-on-your-investment-than-a-hybrid-camry-ipso-facto-the-camry-is-a-bad-deal kind of analysis, but even the kind that asks with the amount of mileage you drive, plus the cost of gas, minus how much you would save if the conventional camry (with comprable options) you purchase were a instead a hybrid --still doesn't account for the fact that people like me are willing to pay a premium just to use a little less gas, even if it's not strictly "economic."

I'll give you another perfectly good example: I have a roof rack for bikes on my car and it reduces my gas mileage considerably, maybe 3-5 gallons, i.e., I get more like 44-45 mpg per tank with it on than the 48-49 I get with it off.

They make a windscreen that would presumably help make up some of this difference. It's a piece of plastic. And it costs $60. How many people with those air shields on their roof racks sat down and figured out how long it would take them to recoup that $60? How many people would this have ever entered into their minds to do? People buy it because it looks good, or to hopefully maybe save a little gas, but not as an "investment."