A look at Hybrid Automobiles with Lauren Fix
LIN: Welcome back and here's a quick look at what's happening right now in the news. Authorities in Florida say they believe a body they found today is that of 13-year-old Sarah Michelle Lunde. Lunde has been missing for a week and that body was found earlier today about a mile from her family's home. An earthquake shook Central California today. The magnitude 5.1 quake hit about three hours ago. It was centered near the town of Pine Club Mountain. The shaking could be felt as far away as Los Angeles but there are no reports of injuries or damage. And change still needed to be made at the nation's airports. Two new government reports due out next week reportedly say security has not improved since 9/11. Critics say better technology and security procedures are still needed. And NASA is launching an investigation into why its dart spacecraft failed to link with a U.S. satellite. The 500-pound craft was launched yesterday, when computers apparently shut it down, reportedly because of a fuel problem. The dart project is part of a $110 million mission to test technology for tracking and docking with other spacecraft. And now that we have your attention, the price at the pump dipped just a little bit this week, in some parts of the country, but nationwide, gas prices are still hovering near record highs. Now, in his weekly radio address today, President Bush said Americans are feeling the pinch and called on Congress to back his energy policies.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: America's prosperity depends on reliable, affordable and secure sources of energy. And today, our energy needs are growing faster than our domestic sources are able to provide. Demand for electricity has grown more than 17 percent in the past decade while our transmission ability lags behind. And we continue to import more than one-half of our domestic oil supply.</s>LIN: But mixed messages from Capitol Hill. On Wednesday, a House committee voted to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, but on the same day, lawmakers blocked an effort to improve U.S. vehicle fuel efficiency. In their radio address today, Democrats said partisan Republican leaders are keeping both houses of Congress in gridlock, when the nation faces challenges such as mounting gas prices. So if you're looking to save a few bucks on gas but you might be looking to buy a hybrid car but you might have to wait a few months. They are in demand, and one New York man is trying to cash in on that fact. Allan Chernoff has his story.</s>ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ken Ruck, proud owner of a brand new Toyota Prius. Fully loaded and with a hybrid engine, gas and electric, it gets 55 miles per gallon.</s>KEN RUCK, PRIUS OWNER: I love this car because not only does it save me money on gas but it also is pretty cool.</s>CHERNOFF: What he'd love even more would be to sell the Prius at a profit of $10,000. Ken, an employee of Virgin Mobile, is advertising on the web to sell for 37 grand.</s>RUCK: I purchased the car on Craig's List's website for $10,000 more than I paid for it. And pretty much every day since then, I've had three to four e-mails offering me not as much as what I'm asking for, but more than what I paid for it.</s>CHERNOFF: Yes, the Prius is popular. Toyota says the average wait for the car is two months. (on camera): With gasoline prices near record levels, some people don't want to wait. They want their Prius now. Kelly Blue Book, the authority on car prices, says used Priuses are selling for $1,000 to $3,000 above sticker price. You can find them at cars.com or eBay Motors but $10,000 above list?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're either crazy or it's a great car, one or the other.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe he's a better businessman than I am.</s>CHERNOFF (voice-over): This Toyota dealer says his customers need wait only a month for a Prius. But in New York, he says, anything is possible.</s>BRUCE EDELMAN, QUEENSBORO TOYOTA: We're not paying $10,000 more for a car no matter how great the car is. But there are some individuals who really want the car, and -- well, they're like on a quest that they want to get that car and they'll pay. They'll pay a high, high premium over the sticker price of what the customer paid for it, all right, probably he will get it.</s>CHERNOFF: If Ken Ruck gets his price, he says he'll buy another Prius to turn a quick buck. But perhaps only he sees green when looking at his silver car. At the very least, he'll save money on gas as he shows off his Prius. Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.</s>LIN: Of course, that's in a town where people pay $500 a month for parking. All right, so if you want to save gas, that really is the bottom line, save some money, joining us to talk all about that is Lauren Fix. She's an automotive expert and co-host of a so on the Do-It- Yourself Network. She joins me now from Buffalo, New York where hopefully parking and gas may be a little cheaper, Lauren.</s>LAUREN FIX, AUTOMOTIVE EXPERT: It's pretty pricey here. We live in New York, so we have all those taxes to deal with.</s>LIN: You bet. All right. Well, let's talk about how we can save some money maybe on some gas or whether we should even buy a hybrid car. I mean when does it make sense to buy a hybrid car when really you're just trying to save fuel?</s>FIX: Right, well, the cost of hybrid cars are usually about four to $6,000 over what your regular vehicle is. So you have to keep that in mind. So with that additional expense, how long will it take you to make that money back? And that's one of the things that people are overlooking. If you were to buy, for example, a Honda Civic or an Accord, you pay $4,000 more for the premium to have that hybrid engine. Now, once you've paid that fee, the one thing that you need to keep in mind, how do you make that money back? Well, the good news is there's a 2000 clean fuel tax deduction but if you're in that 35 percentile bracket, Carol, it's going to -- it's only going to be $700 off your taxes. So if you take that 700 and the $350 you're going to save in fuel because of the cost of gasoline and getting better fuel economy, that's only $1,000.</s>LIN: Right.</s>FIX: It's going to take you five to seven years to earn that back.</s>LIN: Yes, not worth it. I mean it's a nice, maybe conscientious thing to do if you want to buy a hybrid car. You -- it's kind of a feel-good thing to do but what about -- I mean what are your recommendations? If people are buying hybrid cars, what are the best ones, the most reliable ones and the ones that maintain their resale value?</s>FIX: Well, there's a couple choices. There are also some zero emission gas engines such as the Ford Focus which you can pick up for around $17,000 or less. So it's one of the things you need to consider. There are pickup trucks that do not get that clean fuel deduction, like Chevy Silverado. There's the Toyota Highlander coming out. The Insight, the Toyota Insight -- I'm sorry, the Honda Insight gets, believe it or not, around 100 miles to the gallon. It's reported from some customers, but they're not claiming it. They're claiming around 50. So I mean there's some really great choices out there. Hondas are on the lot. For some reason the Toyota Prius, even at the local dealers here in buffalo, New York, have eight people on the waiting list -- eight to 10. So I mean it's about a month and if you really want to pay over sticker, sure there's something -- always something available.</s>LIN: Well, do you recommend -- I mean are there people that you think -- who should get a hybrid vehicle? Who are the most likely candidates?</s>FIX: I would think the most likely candidates are people that are living in like New York City and L.A., where you have a lot of that stop and go traffic. I mean if you think about it, it's point a to point b car so why not have the best fuel economy you can get and not affect the environment at all? So that's something you need to consider.</s>LIN: All right. What about the car that we already have? I mean is there anything we can do to, you know, achieve a similar fuel efficiency?</s>FIX: Absolutely. April is National Car Care Month so you want to be car care aware. And one of the things you can do, it doesn't cost anything, and that is check your tire pressure once a month. Now, Carol, the secret is never to use that number that's on the side wall because that tire fits 20 or 30 different cars. So you want to use the number that's in your doorjamb, in your glove box, or in your owner's manual. That can improve your fuel economy by one to two miles to the gallon. And the other thing to do is change your air filter. If you change your air filter every six months, that's two to three miles to the gallon. That's the lungs of your car where the air goes into your vehicle. If it's not clean and it's not coming through as much as it needs, it'll use more gasoline. So all of that basic maintenance that's in that owner's manual and that book in your glove box underneath all of those napkins...</s>LIN: Right.</s>FIX: I've been this your glove box, Carol.</s>LIN: There are a few other things in there too but we won't discuss that.</s>FIX: Yes, ketchup packs. We all do.</s>LIN: Yes. Oh, you've nailed me.</s>FIX: But in the back is a service schedule. You really need to follow that, whether you do it yourself or go to an independence service garage or the dealer. Getting that done, keeping your vehicle running in its optimal performance is just like yourself. When you work out and eat right, you'll feel better and your car runs its best. And really, if you're going to keep your vehicle, it makes a lot of sense. And the other tip is if you're going to buy a hybrid car or you buy a used one, when they're eight years old, they're going to need to have that battery changed and that's about $3,000.</s>LIN: Ouch!</s>FIX: So that's another thing to think about when you go to purchase these cars. You say I'm keeping it forever.</s>LIN: Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance.</s>FIX: Yes, maintenance is key.</s>LIN: Lauren, thank you so much. I think I'll stick with what I have. But those are good tips. Thanks.</s>FIX: Thanks, Carol.</s>LIN: In the meantime, in health news, samples of a deadly flu strain are accidentally sent around the world to 5,000 different labs. Have they been tracked down and destroyed? Today was the deadline. And how can something like this happen? Well, I'm going to talk to the person who -- at least one of the people who's in charge of tracking those vials and making sure they get destroyed.