Will Buying a Hybrid Pay for Itself?

The Honda Insight hybrid electric car and the Toyota Prius sound great, but it's yet to be proven if they will save consumers more money than regular gas-powered autos.

"I honestly admire Toyota," said Norio Ano, who oversees the development of Honda's Insight hybrid. Mr. Ano was responding to a media question about the pricing of its archrival vehicle – the Toyota Prius.

Recently, I wrote a special feature titled with what sounds like a bad joke, "The Insight's Impact," for Nikkei Automotive Technology. While writing the article, I figured out a formula to determine whether or not buying a hybrid car would pay for itself. I think the formula is convenient, but I have never seen it in any automotive or shopping magazines. So, I am introducing the formula so a wider variety of readers can also use it.

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