On the way to work this morning, I happened to see two hybrid cars rolling next to each other on the highway. Obviously, one was a Toyota Prius and the other a Honda Civic Hybrid. It occurred to me that hybrid cars are becoming more mainstream ‘cuz, like on the HOV lane , one in every 5 car is a Toyota Prius. It’s only going to go up with the gas price (although it’s being cheaper right now but $3.00 a gallon is going to be a fixture in the near future) and urban houses being ridiculously expensive, people are going to have a long commute to work. Anyway, while I was able to look at two hybrid cars at the same time, the new 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid is much better-looking than the Prius. Aside from being a Honda loyal owner, I really like the new look of the Civic and if you are going to get the car, you better be able to afford it (duh). So I was already thinking how can I get my hands on the new Civic. So, look at what I have here:

1. 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid MSRP: $21,850. I’ll negotiate for 20k, although that probably will be very hard due to high demand and stupid dealership markups.

2. Google’s Fuel-Efficient Vehicle Incentive Program: $5,000 cash.

3. Federal Tax Credit – $2,100 (that’s a CREDIT to you, not a mere deduction. )

4. Washington DC sales tax waiver and discounted vehicle registration – abt $1,000.

So, Estimated Final Price = $11,900. Plus if i sold my car for $13,000. Well, I’ll be damned, Who thought I’d actually get some money for getting a hybrid car? And not to mention, years of saving money on gas, which comes in thousands, not just hundreds.

mm-hmm….