Not a big price increase really. However, 180 HP for that car seems quite low to me, but the people that buy it won't care.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=21863

 

Anyone feel like doing the numbers too see how many miles you have to drive before you break even on the $2830 price increase with the better MPG?

 

Assumptions:
50/50 City Highway split
eAssist 25/37 = 31mpg combined
Std 22/28 (guess) = 26 mpg combines
200 miles per week driven * 52 weeks = 10,400 miles

10,400/26 = 400 gallons per year
10,400/31 = 336 gallons per year

400-336 = 64 gallons saved

64*$3.50 = $224 saved per year

2830/224 = 12.63 years.......roughly

The individual consumer sees little benefit. It helps ease forces on the supply chain if large numbers are sold.

 

I think the total system power will exceed 180 horsepower. The engine alone is 180 hp... so adding in the electric motor would add some sort of power, right? Or does e-assist not work that way?

The 2.4 currently gets 19/30 so if this gets 25/37, that's a 31.6% increase in the city and a 23% increase on the highway. Let's assume a 50/50 split of highway/city driving, so the regular 2.4 will average 24.5 and the e-assist will average 31.

At $4/gal it's costing $163.27 per 1000 miles without e-assist and $129.03 with e-assist.

A savings of $34.24 per 1000 miles

So at that rate it would take 82,651 miles before you'd break even not accounting for lost interest on the money paid/owed up front for e-assist. Of course fewer miles if you do more city driving and more miles if you do more highway.

It's worth noting that we're comparing the base price of a 2011 to a 2012 model. It's possible that the base LaCrosse for 2012 might actually be going up in price quite a bit. Maybe the CX is going to be less de-contented than it is now. Or at the very least we'll probably see a slight increase even if the content levels don't change at all. Any increase between 11 and 12 would mean the e-assist costs that much less relative to the non-hybrid.

One thing I think a lot of 'do hybrids make sense' calculations negate to factor in, is the increased value of the vehicle. If you go to sell your LaCrosse before you break even (or even after) you will probably get a good chunk more for it because it has e-assist... especially if gas prices continue to stay high.



edit: What might also throw a wrench into this comparison is the 2.5L that the new 2013 Malibu is getting. I don't know if/when the LaCrosse is going to get it, but I do know that the Malibu e-assist is going to get the 2.4 and the non-hybrid Malibu is going to get the 2.5. Assuming the 2.5 is any more efficient and/or powerful, it might make a harder case for the e-assist in the Malibu and possibly the LaCrosse.

 

Sounds like there's more to the price increase than just the e-assist:
Also not mentioned is the price of the 3.6 LaCrosse (now using the DI 303 hp version) which is ... the same as the e-assist car! Looks like Buick is using the same pricing technique as Lincoln with their hybrid.

 

So, as usual, as the buyer, I'm basically a financial fool to purchase this "greener" version.



I thought about mentioning that, but while likely, it's not guaranteed... even so, you wouldnt think it would be a substantial amount ($200 maybe?), assuming there werent major other changes to the car, which if there were, I am unaware of.

 

Looks like they elimiated a few thinsg from the base model... that does have some value, if you are buyign the base model.

If you are going even slightly up the ladder, I wonder if the added cost goes down at all?

With the elimination of the trim line levels (CX, CXL, etc) it makes it a bit harder to determine, I suppose.

 

In theory resale should also be higher, so it isn't really costing you that much. If gas prices go up then you not only save more money on gas, you will also see much better resale. At $5 a gallon I could see and equally equipped V6 selling for less than the eAssist car.

Don't think of it as being a financial fool, think of it as buying insurance against much higher gas prices, which are likely.

 

If you optioned a 2011 base car to the level of equipment of the 2012 base car, the MSRP would be $29,240. So the apples-to-apples increase is $1,580 (and I doubt many 2011s were sold as complete strippers). The fact that it's a model year newer adds a bit of value as well.

 

A Buick is still, a Buick.

 

That is a great point. Inflation was 2010 to 2011 is 3.1% http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

So that $29,240 last year would be the equivalent of $30,146 today.

 

So basically with the equipment that was optional before, now being standard, plus inflation factored in, the price increase is basically a wash and you get e-assist for free if you select no option boxes on the 2012. hmmm.

OK, the LaCrosse starts under $30K and is a upmarket epsilon 2 chassis car. Where is this "upmarket" new Impala on epsilon 2 supposed to slot in without overlapping the Malibu price wise and competing with the LaCrosse, and at the same time, be a worthy competitor for the Taurus?

 

I swear it's like you don't read my posts or anyone that replies to my posts either. This is the second thread in as many days that you've either reposted something I already posted or acted like somebody else repeating what I said is a new point/idea.

Post 4 in this thread:

 

In the other thread I definitely didn't read your post, in this one I skimmed your post but mostly paid attention to the numbers and the part about the 2.5L.

I've been very busy lately, I'm having a hard time keeping up with my commitment to CamaroZ28.com

 

Any chance these new eAssist cars will qualify for federal tax credits? They are essentially mild hybrids.

A tax credit would eat up at least a portion of the additional up front cost of eAssist.

It would make it a much easier call to spend the extra $$$