truth to it.

One the amount of energy expended to manufacturer a new car is a large portion of the cost of the vehicle. Energy goes into every portion and part of that car, so lets do some math shall we?

Regardless of the incentive the vehicle sticker price is $25,000 for a new prius, how much in energy do we think make up the cost of that car? Lets say that 40% of that car’s price comes from energy cost. For simplicity lets assume that gasoline makes up that 40% cost of the car, how much is that? That is 10,000 dollars. Now lets assume your car that you traded in gets you 31 miles per gallon which is much lower than that of a prius, how many gallons can you get out of 10,000 dollars, the answer is 4444 using 2.25 per gallon. So at 31 miles per gallon and 4444 gallons we get how many miles 137,777 miles. That is a lot of miles to to drive a clunker huh? Assume you paid off the car that you are trading in? How does this reduce the cost to the consumer? It doesn’t, it is cheaper to repair the older vehicle than it is to buy a new car, besides I do not think you can get 137,777 miles out of a Prius without having to replace the batteries which cost around 5000.00 dollars. Now how much is that 4500 dollars really worth, cosidering the dealers are not adjusting the MSRP of the vehicle very much with that 4500 dollar rebate. I got better values off MSRP about a year and half ago.

BTW, that is a nice thought about your last 25,000 gallons with a 18 cent a gallon savings; however, it does nothing for you, it does it for the car company in the end. You were the one who paid the taxes on the gas not them and you have to follow the Governments conditions to get the rebate.

That said, if we look at it your way then it is another example of how tax rebate incentives work much better to stimulate industry then taxing and spending.

I am just trying to get you to think about this not trying to start a flame war.

I cringe at seeing a working car destroyed. What if we wanted to stimulate the microwave industry and destroyed all the working microwaves in the country then gave everyone a half off coupon for a new one? Sure all the newer microwaves are more energy efficient, however, all the sunk energy expenditure that went into the original microwaves is now no longer being taken advantage of. And think how much it costs (in energy) to manufacture, ship, store, and sell all the new microwaves.

I don’t have as much of an issue with the rebate as I do with the dishonesty of the motivations. Also I would much rather see this as a tax rebate than a check – and I question the ethics of a massive government program designed to focus on a specific industry that has already gotten way more than their fair share of government assistance.

if this program was about saving the Earth and not the auto companies the incentive would be to trade in your “clunker” for a used car that already meets the higher energy requirements. This way a “clunker” is off the the road and no new energy costs are needed to replace it. There are thousands of “newer” used cars sitting on lots everywhere. This is the proof that “saving the Earth” has very little to do with this.

Also, I was talking to my father about this and he just can’t find it in his heart to let his perfectly good car be destroyed for no good reason, and I agree.