Maybe this will be an answer to those that are concerned about my extavant SUV. I have 5 children a wife and 2 dogs that we travel with. You do the math. That would mean having 3 cars to do the job of 1. Now we dont bring everyone all the time but 5 fit very nicely when we travel with all our stuff. I commute 35 miles to work 2X's a month in my Honda and my wife drives 5 miles to work. Hope that answers your concerns about me having a Suburban ( its paid for) IS YOUR FUEL MIZER?

I do not feel sorry for folks who cannot sell their huge SUV's..everyone has to pay for their extravagant & wasteful tastes!

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Thanks!

I would like to comment on trading that old gas guzzler for more fuel ecconomic car. I have a 2003 Ford Explorer Limited (Centennial edition) with the with V8 engine that gets about 14.5 mpg. My suv is fully loaded with every bell and whistle. About 2 months ago I decided it was time for me to trade for economy. I went to my local car dealer and found the auto I wanted. Keep in mind that I still have a 11K balance oweing on my Explorer. The car salesman wanted to give me $6500 on my car for trade in (less $650 for new tires he said I needed----NOT) and you know they would sell it for way more. I have not refinanced my auto and do not have a high interest rate or anything like that. I have only had my car about 9 months. After I add the 5K "negative equity" back the the purchase price of the new car, then the financing on that 5K over 4-6 years I would be paying way more per month on car payment than what I would spend on gasoline per month.
Long story short....According to the dealers, there is NOT a market right now for the V8 suv or at least not at full price. That really hurt my trade in value. 2 years ago I would have gotten my payoff price for my auto. If you do not owe a balance on your SUV and are willing to give it away, you will be ok in trading. Weigh the cost effectivness of one vs the other though.

Dealers have you by the nads right now. People are still purchasing the bigger suv, but at a reduced price. On the other hand, the price of compacts are going up. I don't see all the incentives to purchase the smaller car as I used to. "They" know people are going to buy them right now so they can sell at full (if not more than) price right now (without special financing incentives). 1980 all over again. Next thing you know the parking spaces will start becoming smaller again with no room for my suv (until the next cycle of pricing).

hey, I have 95'north star v8 caddilac, with steady speed and light foot I am getting 24 mpg. the tag,ins, and maintainance is almost nothing. I dont see a reson to buy a hybred now. Not enought saving or fuel effective for me.I WANT an electric car. China has 12 different models. Why don't we? The problem though as another said what kind of cost is involved with replacement batteries. And the price I am seeing for these cars in 2010 is over $30,000 to 60,000. these same cars in asia are only 12,000. Screwed again.

I've not read anything about the longevity of the hybrids' batteries. That would seem to impact choosing a used car, or even a new hybrid if you plan to keep it for 10+ years.

I can't understand how the "payback" figure is determined. Seems to me it depends on current price of gas. I'm getting 48 mpg on my Prius, so effectively I'm paying $2.00 a gallon as compared to a car that gets 24 mpg. Driving 14,000 miles per year, I'm "saving" 291 gallons of gas per year or $1162 per year. Seems like a pretty fast payback to me!!

The answer to the energy problem is not more efficient cars it is living closer to work in a smaller house so you can drive less and bike or take transit sometimes.

I'm hangin' on to my sweet ole van as long as it runs. I average 27-28 miles hwy and I think that is as good as most new cars......right?

Remember, turning off the A/C doesn't _always_ help. If you're driving on the highway, and its hot enough to need the windows open if A/C is off, the drag on your car from open windows reduces gas mileage more than A/C.
I agree with other comments, by trading in your gas guzzler, we could be saving more than money.
Given the frequency with which people usually replace their cars, I don't think it makes sense to rush out and get a new car, but when, in the normal course of life someone needs a new one, let gas mileage be a more significant factor in the decision.

When your president goes hat in hand to ask the dictatorship of Saudi Arabia to give us cheaper gas, when our sons are missing arms and legs in Walter Reed, do we need a formula to decide to use less gas? Our troops are there because there is oil there. We need the spirit we had in World War II, all of us pulling together.

My wife bought a car from a dealer in Orlando Florida. We got a copy of the Carfax report and had the vehicle inspected. However, when we tried to trade it in on a new car, the dealer ran a Car Check report and indicated that it had serious frame damage. This information was disclosed to the original delaer at auction. The car appraised for less than half it's blue book value. What action should be take against the dealer.

That was an excellent worksheet. Thank you!