Ok, so I have a question...


I was just looking at some of the higher-end Lexus cars, specifically the LS series. They've got the LS 460, which is "only" around $62,000 for the base model.. Oh, wait, they've also got a hybrid version (LS 600h) which is basically the same thing, but with a hybrid engine. That sounds cool! Let's see, it starts at... $104,000???


Who on earth would pay $40,000 extra just to get the hybrid version of a car? I mean, I know these cars are already for people with more money than sense, but WTF?


While you're pondering that one, here's a few other bits of relevant info: If you never touched a highway, and thus got the best possible fuel advantage from the hybrid design, the 600h would get you (maybe) 4 miles per gallon better gas mileage than the non-hybrid version. That's not too bad, right? I mean the gas savings would make up for some of the extra price. Let's see, in order to break even from saving gas, you'd only need to drive the car for (...let's see, carry the three and divide by pi, or was that carry the pi?...) only 914,285 miles! Wait, let me double-check that. No, that's not a misplaced decimal point, that's over 900 thousand miles to break even. Umm, yeah.


Aha, but maybe fuel efficiency isn't the reason for it. I mean, there are some hybrids out there that are intended to go the other way, adding horsepower for the same fuel efficiency, which isn't a bad thing either, and I could see that justifying a bigger price tag for some people. Sure enough, the 460 has about 380 horsepower, but the 600h has 438 horsepower(!). Ok, so that must be it. More powerful engine, better acceleration, more fun?


Umm, apparently, no. It turns out it's also 800 pounds(!) heavier, which means even with all that awesome power, it performs, err, exactly the same as the 460, apparently. And I can't help thinking that extra weight can't help its handling and suspension any.. If anything, it sounds like it probably drives worse than the non-hybrid version.


So in short, $40,000 extra and essentially no benefit whatsoever, except having a little "h" on the end of the model number?


Umm, I'll pass, thanks!