Tax Breaks
Tax incentives may play a part in buying, too, but again these are legislative issues, so read the fine print or talk to your CPA first. They're also more biased toward improvements than outright mileage, with the credit based on how much hybrid power is produced and fuel economy relative to the segment average. Further, the credits start to phase out after 60,000 units are sold, meaning if you take the plunge sooner and spend more on price markup, you might get a bigger tax reduction. (Check IRS publication 535, chapter 12 for details on federal tax breaks.) Various state purchase incentives include waivers of sales tax, rebates, and tax credits, all of which may go away if lobbyists succeed in creating hybrid taxes to support highway infrastructure.
Regardless of why someone buys one, the hybrid may not save much money (if any) over the long term based on purchase price, fuel economy, taxes, insurance, maintenance, and so on. We checked www.edmunds.com's True Cost To Own-five years at 15,000 miles per year-to pit RX 400h against RX 330 (the RX 350 was too new for data) and the Escape Hybrid against a V-6 XLT Sport Escape, and in both cases the hybrid cost $0.02/mile more to operate. We tried to match gas versus hybrid Highlanders on www.kbb.com for cost to own (for five years). It listed that cost as $40,552 for the Hybrid, but no cost-of-ownership data was available for the standard 2005 or 2006 Highlanders. We then looked at the Silverado. Its Hybrid package is a $1500 option and not a separate model, therefore no cost comparison could be made. However, the five-year cost to own the non-hybrid Silverado was almost identical to the Highlander Hybrid's. Early insurance-industry data suggests that hybrids are in fewer accidents per mile driven than average, likely due to hybrid drivers' tendency toward driving slower-and wanting to conserve fuel.
Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra PHT
The Parallel Hybrid Truck is available as an RPO on certain Silverado and Sierra extended-cab pickups. Labeled a mild or partial hybrid, only the 5.3-liter gasoline engine will propel the truck, so it doesn't qualify for some hybrid incentives. The roughly 10 percent EPA improvement (realistically, one mpg) in fuel economy comes from fuel shutoff during coasting, braking, or stopped conditions whenever there's adequate power in the 42-volt battery pack. As a bonus, the truck can deliver 20 amps of continuous 120-volt AC (household) power for job sites, data acquisition crews, or RVers without gensets or solar power.
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