A hybrid uses both a gas engine and an electric motor. It can use electricity for part of the driving and can also recharge a battery when you slow down.
MSRP is the price number on the car’s sticker that the manufacturer suggests. Dealers don’t always sell at that exact price, so your real cost can be different. That difference can change whether a hybrid saves you money.
The host is saying some dealerships may charge more than the sticker price for hybrids. If you pay a bigger premium upfront, the hybrid might not save you money as quickly—or at all.
The point here is that different dealerships can charge different prices for the same hybrid. If a dealer charges more than the sticker price, it can take longer for the hybrid to “pay for itself.”
Hybrids often save more fuel in city driving because there’s lots of stopping and starting. They can use the electric motor and reduce engine running when you’re stopped or moving slowly.
EPA ratings are official estimates of how many miles a car can get per gallon. They’re listed on the window sticker and usually split into city vs highway driving.
The car can stop using the engine when you’re stopped, like at a red light. That helps save fuel compared with a regular gas car that keeps the engine running.
Manufacturers often back hybrid batteries with a warranty. That means if something goes wrong within a certain number of years, you may not have to pay for a replacement.
Term
150 to 200,000 miles
They’re talking about how long the battery might last in real-world driving, measured in miles. The point is that replacement may not be needed for a long time.
Instead of wasting speed as heat in the brake pads, regenerative braking helps slow the car and also recharges the battery. That can mean your brakes don’t wear out as quickly.
Concept
traditional hybrid vs plug-in hybrid
A regular hybrid mainly charges its battery while you drive. A plug-in hybrid can be charged from home or a charger, so you can drive farther on electricity before the gas engine starts helping.
A gasoline engine is the traditional type of engine that runs on gas. The point here is that hybrids add extra parts, so some people prefer sticking with a simpler gas-only setup.
The Nissan Rogue is a popular SUV. The host is saying Nissan is preparing a new hybrid version and it’s designed to work a bit differently than other hybrids.
In many hybrids, you don’t have to plug the car in because it can recharge its battery while you drive. It uses the gas engine and other built-in methods to put energy back into the battery.
The power control system is the hybrid’s decision-maker. It constantly figures out whether to use the gas engine, the electric motor, or both—and when to charge the battery to get better efficiency.
Torque is the force that helps the car pull away and speed up. Electric motors can provide that force quickly, which can make acceleration feel stronger.
A mild hybrid uses electricity to help the gas engine, but it usually can’t drive the car on electric power alone. It’s more about boosting and efficiency than full electric driving.
This is the system that shuts the engine off when you’re stopped, then turns it back on when you’re about to go. It helps save fuel by avoiding unnecessary idling.
The Toyota Highlander is mentioned as a hybrid example. The point is that it’s the kind of hybrid that can work without you plugging it in all the time.
The Ford Maverick is brought up as an example of a hybrid option from Ford. The takeaway is that hybrid choices aren’t limited to one brand or one car.
The Toyota RAV4 Prime is a plug-in hybrid RAV4. You can charge it and drive on electricity for a while, and then it uses gas like a hybrid when the battery is low.
The Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrid can be plugged in to charge its battery. It can drive on electricity for short trips, and when the battery runs low it switches to gas.
In a series hybrid, the gas engine doesn’t directly push the wheels. Instead, it makes electricity, and an electric motor uses that electricity to move the car. That’s why it can feel more like an electric car.
Concept
engine stop-start behavior
They’re talking about the engine turning off and back on while you’re driving. In a hybrid, the car may do this when it can run on electric power, then start the gas engine when it needs more energy. Some people notice it a lot at first.
Miles per gallon (MPG) means how far the car can go on one gallon of gas. Hybrids often get better MPG because the electric motor helps out. Your actual MPG can change based on how you drive.
In a parallel hybrid, both the gas engine and the electric motor can help move the car. Depending on driving conditions, the car can use one or both together. That flexibility is why this design is so common.
Concept
power split hybrid
A power split hybrid is a hybrid design that mixes gas-engine power and electric-motor power in a coordinated way. The goal is to keep the car efficient whether you’re cruising, accelerating, or slowing down. It’s a common approach in mainstream hybrids.
“Series” means the gas engine is mostly used to make electricity, and the electric motor turns the wheels. It can feel seamless because the wheels are driven by the electric motor.
A full electric car uses a big battery to power the wheels. The host is saying hybrids usually have less battery worry because their battery is smaller and used differently.
A lease is like renting a car for a few years with payments for the time you use it. The host’s point is that it can reduce your worry about what happens later.
The host is saying you should compare a regular gas car to a hybrid one. Don’t just believe the hype—look at what it really costs and how it fits your needs.
LIVE
Welcome again to another edition of my car guru with me, Lenny Lawson,
the non self-proclaimed car guru.
That label was applied to me by a customer in the showroom at my car dealership.
We were talking one day and I was explaining to her about a mechanic or
situation she was having with her car in the service department.
And she just looked at me and she says, you're just like a car guru.
And light bulb went off over tops of my head and I said, okay, I could use that.
And so that's when I changed the name of my radio program to my car guru.
So I want to be your car guru.
Today we're going to be busting a myth.
Well, it's not, it's kind of a half truth.
So sometimes it's a myth and sometimes it's quite true.
The truth about hybrids, a hybrid vehicle, do you own one?
Are you thinking about buying one?
Well, these are things that you need.
Well, this particular program is one you need to listen to.
So I ask this question, is it a myth that buying a hybrid could be a car,
could be a truck, could be an SUV?
Is it a myth that it actually saves you money?
In the long run, when you consider the higher up front cost and the fuel savings,
I think that's a legit question, don't you?
I wish more people would look at car buying with that type of logical question.
Do we really need to do this?
Does it make sense to go out and buy this particular vehicle
when our current vehicle costs us less to operate, costs us less to ensure
the interest rate that we're paying right now is 1.9.
If we buy a new one, it's going to be 5.9.
You know, are you considering all the different variables?
But let's just hone in on hybrid.
Well, it's really not a myth that they save fuel because they do,
but it's not automatically true for every buyer.
So whether a hybrid saves you money, whether it's in the long run or short run,
depends on five things.
Number one, how much extra does the hybrid cost?
Number two, how many miles do you drive?
Number three, what type of driving do you do?
In other words, is it mostly in the city or out on the highway?
Are you commuting from long distances?
Do you use it to travel in?
All of these, all of these questions factor into the decision.
Also, number four, gas prices and number five, how long do you keep the vehicle?
For many people, hybrids do save money overall for others.
It just doesn't make sense from a math standpoint.
So where do hybrids save money?
Well, modern hybrids cost typically from a thousand to $3,000 more than
a comparable gas vehicle.
Now, here's the problem with that.
That's based on MSRP.
You've got many dealers, Toyota dealers, Hyundai dealers.
They'll charge well over MSRP for a hybrid and they'll sell a gasoline version
of the same vehicle for the factory invoice.
So that 1000 to 3000 difference in MSRP could swell to five or 6000.
Then the math looks totally different.
Wouldn't you agree?
Let's look at a real world example.
A gas sedan gets 34 miles per gallon versus a hybrid that gets 50 miles per
gallon at 15,000 miles per year.
That can save anywhere from 400 to $700 annually in fuel, depending on gas prices.
So that means that to break even point, which I think you have to consider
would be anywhere from two to five years for average drivers faster.
If you drive a lot of miles and much slower for low mileage drivers, a person
that drives 25,000 miles a year can recover the extra cost of a hybrid.
Pretty quickly, a retiree driving 5,000 miles per year may never recover it.
Oh, but they have to have a hybrid.
Why? Well, because that's what their kids said they needed to have.
Oh, you got to go by hybrid.
It'll save you so much money.
Really? Maybe not.
So how does the type of driving factor in?
Well, hybrids do better around town.
If you look at the EPA ratings on the window sticker of a hybrid, you'll see
in most cases, the city driving mileage numbers are higher than the highway
driving mileage numbers.
And it's because of just the way that hybrids operate.
The motor shuts off, you know, you go to a traffic light, stop and go traffic
and you don't have real heavy acceleration.
I mean, the hybrid will run under battery power for most of the time.
That's why they get better fuel economy because they're not using any fuel.
So city driving, stop and go traffic, the hybrid is a good choice.
But if you mostly drive on the interstate, you take long trips.
You're at a steady speed on the highway.
Then the advantage kind of goes away.
A lot of people worry about long term cost of hybrids.
What's it going to cost to replace the battery?
Well, for probably eight to 10 years, you don't have to worry about that
because in most cases, hybrid batteries are are warranted for that period
of time, eight to 10 years.
And you probably won't have to worry about doing anything with the battery
until it gets 150 to 200,000 miles on it.
And replacement costs have come down substantially compared to the very early hybrids.
So hybrids often do save money in other ways, too.
People forget this because they use regenerative braking.
The vehicle slows down without applying the brakes.
So the brakes last longer, brake pads, that is.
Many hybrids are mechanically gentle on engines and transmissions
because the electric motor is doing a whole lot of the work.
Now, a traditional hybrid vehicle is different from a plug in hybrid.
The purpose of which is to allow you to drive, oh, anywhere from 25 to 50
miles pure electric and then it switches over to the gasoline engine.
So it's a really different experience and make sure that you know what you're buying.
Is this just a regular hybrid or is a plug in hybrid?
Because you may be severely disappointed if you get home only to find out
that you have to completely change the wiring in your garage in order that you
can plug this thing in every night.
So I guess neither of these statements is true.
Hybrids never save money because they cost more up front.
That's first statement, second statement.
Hybrid always saves money.
That's not true either.
The truth is, if you are a high mileage city and suburban driver, you're
probably going to come out ahead.
Probably low mileage, rural highway drivers.
Probably not going to come out ahead buying a hybrid.
But you know, either way, the savings are usually very moderate.
And the extra costs are also very moderate.
It's not a life changing thing.
For me, I'd rather just go ahead and buy a gasoline engine, forget about it
because of the additional technology that's involved in the hybrid.
It's just more stuff to go wrong.
I'll be back in just uno momento.
Okay, so you've made up your mind.
You're buying a hybrid.
How does it work?
Do you have any idea?
Or do you just, are you just one of those people that don't care how it works as
long as it does?
I think the majority of people are that way.
You know, they get all caught up in this, this mentality.
Oh, we got to buy a hybrid.
Everybody's telling us to buy a hybrid.
Oh, we got to look at a, or a full electric vehicle like a Tesla or
something like that.
Everybody says, oh, you got to have one of these.
No, you don't.
You don't have to.
You need to think about it.
What's, what's best for your lifestyle?
What makes sense for the way you drive?
What about the cost of insurance?
What happens if you have an accident?
Where do you have to go to get it repaired?
You know, it's one of the reasons I wouldn't want to buy a Tesla.
I don't want to have to drive a hundred mile or let's see, probably for me,
a hundred and forty mile round trip to get any service work done,
unless they will come to my house and then I have to wait.
And what if they have to order parts?
I'm stranded.
Maybe they'll bring me a loaner car.
You know, it's just too many advantages, I think, uh, from buying from a dealer
that is in your region or, or local in your same town.
It's just so much more convenient and hopefully they'll provide high level
of service and you can be happy doing business with them.
And if you can, it just works better because the dealer is a part of your car life.
Now, if you abandon the dealer and decide to start going with independent shop,
same thing, as long as they're close, as long as you trust them and they can
fix your car right the first time, then it's, it's more convenient.
And I pay, I will pay extra personally for convenience.
I will.
Okay.
I think it's important to talk about the differences between just a regular
gasoline engine vehicle, what we, what is referred to as an ice vehicle, not
to be confused with immigration enforcement, internal combustion engine.
Okay.
Uh, the main parts of a hybrid are the gasoline engine, which is usually
smaller and more fuel efficient than a traditional engine.
And it may be called upon to drive the wheels directly.
I'll talk about the new Nissan that's getting ready to come out.
The new Nissan Rogue, which is a different approach to the hybrid vehicle.
But the engine also can generate electricity or it can do both.
The electric motor can move the car, can power the car alone at low speeds.
I mean, it's not going to push you down the interstate at 65 miles an hour.
It can mostly when you're going downhill because the, the gasoline engine will shut
off.
It can also assist in acceleration.
That's one of the reasons why my F one 50 power boost, which is a hybrid has
well, probably 30 or 40 more horsepower than the regular F one 50, because it has
the extra oomph provided by the electric motor.
So there's a hybrid battery pack.
This stores electricity for the electric motor.
You know, even though it's a hybrid and it has a battery that will drive the
wheels through the electric motor, it still is a most, most of them are 12
volt systems.
They have a 12 volt battery also.
The 12 volt is probably going to be out there underneath the hood, just like
any other normal car.
And it's designed to get the internal combustion engine started and to help run
accessories and different things on the car.
And then it goes to sleep.
The alternator takes over and the electric motor on the vehicle takes over much
of the responsibility of acceleration and some breaking.
Now, when you compare the battery to a full EV, the battery pack is much smaller
on a hybrid and you don't have to plug it in to anything.
It charges itself automatically.
Now, there is something on there.
Now, this is where it gets expensive and complicated.
It's called the power control system.
And it's basically the brain of the hybrid and it's constantly making
decisions which power source to use the battery or the motor.
It also decides when to charge the battery, when to shut off the gas engine,
how to maximize efficiency.
Needless to say, a hybrid is worthless without its brain, just like we are.
And when something goes wrong with this particular component, you're dead in the water.
The vehicle won't run either on gas or electric.
So in different situations, like starting from a stop, many hybrids initially move
the vehicle with the electric motor only.
They're only really useful at low speeds.
And that's why hybrids are excellent in city traffic.
Moderate cruising, the gasoline engine usually takes over because engines are more
efficient at steady speeds than batteries are.
Under hard acceleration, both the gasoline engine and the electric motor
are going to work together.
It gives the vehicle extra torque, better acceleration and allows
the gas engine to be smaller in the vehicle because it's
it's boosted by the electric motor.
One of the most important features of a hybrid is the braking.
Like I said, when you brake, the electric motor reverses the function and becomes a generator.
And instead of wasting energy as heat, the car captures it, stores it back in the
battery. It's called regenerative braking.
So there are different types of hybrids.
One is called a mild hybrid that basically assists the engine.
It usually cannot drive the car alone.
For example, when you pull up to a red light, a lot of people hate this and the engine shuts off.
That is kind of considered a mild hybrid, OK?
Because it's it's the auto start stop feature that the government
mandated many years ago.
And Donald Trump has recently said, OK, you don't have to do that anymore.
Well, that decision will last until the next administration comes in.
If it happens to be Democrats, we get those buttons back.
Because I guess they think that it will save tons and tons of fuel over the long run.
Maybe it will. I don't know.
Full hybrid would be like the hybrids that Toyota sells the Prius, you know, the Highlander.
I guess they have a bunch of other.
So does Honda and Ford has the Maverick and the F-150 and the Escape.
And I know Hyundai has all kinds of different hybrid options.
These are the vehicles that most people think of when they're thinking of buying a hybrid.
It's a full hybrid, not a plug in hybrid.
It has a much larger battery.
It can be plugged in like an electric vehicle.
As I said, it can often drive 20 to 50 miles on electricity alone.
And after the battery depletes, it behaves like a normal vehicle.
Toyota RAV4 Prime Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrid.
These are some examples.
Again, just make sure you know what you're buying if you're buying a hybrid.
And always consider the gasoline version.
Look at the price difference, because when you do the math,
if you end up having to pay five or 6000 dollars more for a hybrid,
you will never recover that in fuel savings.
Makes no sense to do it, then, does it?
And finally, there are three different mechanical
designs for those of you who care about the mechanical things,
the nuts and bolts of how this works.
The first type of hybrid is called a series hybrid.
These really haven't been big in the United States yet,
but it's common with the new Nissan Rogue.
This is where the engine is a generator.
It has no direct connection to the wheels.
That generator generates electricity,
which powers the electric motor, which powers the wheels.
So when you're driving the new Nissan Rogue,
it will feel like an EV, very smooth, very quiet.
The engine will only kick on when it needs additional juice to run the thing.
I'm really excited about this one,
because personally, I don't like necessarily the way the engine comes on
and goes off and comes on and goes off on a hybrid.
I guess you get to a point where you don't notice it as much.
I guess those of you who have a hybrid, you know what I'm talking about.
Oh, you're so proud that you're getting 40 to 50 miles per gallon.
You've probably learned a way to ignore that.
Good for you.
OK, another type.
We talked about the series hybrid, the parallel hybrid.
This is the engine and the motor can drive the wheels directly when I say
the engine and the electric motor, both can drive the wheels directly.
This is a very common design.
And then you have the power split hybrid.
This is why many Toyota and Ford hybrids feel the way they feel.
It has a series behavior and a parallel behavior.
It uses a planetary gear set to blend the power sources very smoothly.
So you can actually run on just electric, just the internal combustion engine
or both, like my power boost F-150.
It will the electric motor enhances the gasoline engine
when you're towing, when you're going up a hill under hard acceleration.
And it works really well.
So the good thing about most hybrids is they last a pretty long time.
It's not like you have to worry about replacing the battery
like you do in a full battery electric vehicle.
I mean, it just until the cost come down for batteries,
the EV thing is going to be something that you would never want to buy.
You would want to lease it and let it become somebody else's problem
at the end of the three year lease.
But now hybrids are a different thing and it's a it's a much safer purchase.
But it doesn't always make sense.
And that's why it's important to do the the comparison between
just the the regular gas engine and the hybrid.
Don't just get caught up in all the hype because it end up
it could end up costing a lot more money.
OK, I'll be back in just one minute.
OK, I am back.
We sell electric riding lawnmowers at my
lawnmower and tractor dealership called Green Outdoor in Greenville, Tennessee.
We also sell mowers that nobody has to ride on.
It's electric. It's a robot lawnmower.
Now, I haven't tried that out yet and I probably not going to
because I'm one of those weirdos that really enjoys mowing grass.
It's one of the few things that I can do see immediate results.
Everything else takes too long to develop.
And that's one it's just I don't know.
And I can create a work of art.
My wife says, boy, that yard looks good.
It looks like a quilt.
And I say, I know I designed it that way.
But back to the electrification of the world.
I just wish we could go back to simplified vehicles.
Where we didn't have all this technology.
Like when I first started selling cars, what, 48 years ago?
I mean, if a vehicle had power windows, it was loaded.
And then if you added cruise control and an eight track tape deck,
that was about all there was.
But now, you know, we've got vehicles like I was driving down the road the other day
and I normally drive it like with one hand.
And I like to put it kind of in the center top of the steering wheel.
I know you're not supposed to.
You're supposed to be at 10 o'clock and two o'clock.
But occasionally I'll let that hand go up there.
Well, it blocks the camera that's watching me.
That's making sure that I'm paying attention.
What business is it of theirs?
I guess it's just some safety device.
But yeah, I've got multiple cameras watching me,
especially when I activate the self driving capability on this vehicle.
Then boy, it's glued to me.
It wants to make sure that I'm not even taking a sip of my pals tea.
Leonard, put down that tea.
And so I do.
So I may have to put up with my car bossing me around,
but you don't have to put up with some salesperson
trying to convince you to spend an extra five or $6,000 on a hybrid
when it really doesn't make sense.
But then again, if you can buy it right
and you're driving the way you drive your car,
where you drive, the type of distances that you drive,
how expensive fuel is where you live, all of those things can factor in
and buying a hybrid can be a good decision.
But just be prepared to do the math.
Well, thanks for listening to this edition of my car guru.
If you have any questions, you can always send me a text and I'll respond 423-552-2020.
And if you want to copy the my car guru guidebook,
which will certainly aid you in all of your automotive related decision
making processes, you know, just like
how to negotiate a car deal.
I mean, unfortunately, this business is a negotiation business
and you want to be prepared for that.
And the guidebook will help make that easy.
But there's much more in than that.
And if you're interested, send me your email address to my cell phone.
423-552-2020. It's free.
And I'll send you a PDF and you can share it with your kinfolk.
Well, thanks for listening and I'll see you next time.
About this episode
The host digs into the real-world math behind hybrids, arguing that fuel savings are real but the payoff depends on price premium, driving habits, gas prices, and how long you keep the vehicle. He also breaks down how hybrids work, from battery assist and regenerative braking to the differences between full hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and mild hybrids. Along the way, he pushes back on hype, reminding listeners to compare local costs and lifestyle fit before buying.
