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"Consumer Reports now says it made an error when calculating the cost of
owning a hybrid: Owners of the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic hybrids do save
money, the magazine said today.

Last week, the organization released a statement ahead of its well-read
April auto issue, which hit newsstands today, that said owners of the six
most popular hybrid vehicles would pay more than buyers of comparable
gasoline-only vehicles over their lifetime of ownership.

Late today, however, Consumer Reports issued a statement acknowledging ``a
calculation error.''

``We deeply regret the error,'' said Rik Paul, the magazine's automotive
editor, said in the statement.

The new calculations show that owners of the Toyota Prius will save $400 and
owners of the Honda Civic will save $300 when compared with gasoline-only
counterparts. Owners of four other hybrids -- the Honda Accord, Ford Escape,
Toyota Highlander and Lexus RX 400h -- will still end up spending $1,900 to
$5,500 more during five years of ownership and 75,000 miles, Consumer
Reports said."








"Mike Hunter" <mikehunt2@mailcity.com> wrote in message
news:aBadnSj6SeGjQZDZUSdV9g@ptd.net...[color=blue]
> You might want to read CR report that hybrids cost for nearly $4,000 to
> $7,000 MORE to own over five years than a comparable conventionally power
> vehicle, even at $5 gallon and including tax rebates. In ten years the
> scenario is even worse as resale value tanks with the prospect of
> replacing the battery pack at a cost of $3,000 to $7,000
>
>[/color]