My Other Car… Cancels Out This One
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Tyler Cowen calls it portfolio theory. I’ll call it moral self-regulation:
Chance a U.S. household that owns a Prius also owns an SUV: 1 in 3.
That’s from the Harper’s Index, October issue, according to Cowen. It would surprise you, if you didn’t read this blog and already know that we’re constantly calculating the trade-off between being able to see ourselves as good people and the cost of engaging in all that non-advantageous goodness.
Already own an SUV? Soothe your conscience with a hybrid.
Already own a hybrid? You’ve been good! You deserve that SUV!
Welcome to being human.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by ryansager, Liberty Ideals and Freethinker. Freethinker said: RT @libertyideals: My Other Car? Cancels Out This One: 1-in-3 Prius owners owns an SUV #libertarian http://bit.ly/3sXAY [...]
This is silly. My wife has had a Prius for a few years now. She gets about 45 mpg. That compare pretty favorably to the Blazer it relaced. Did the desire to see ourselves as responsible consumers play a part in the decision to purchase it? Yes of course. But to say the decision is non-advantageous is absurd, given where the price of gas was when we bought it.. and where it undoubtedly will be again before long.
You posit that Prius owners bought SUVs after purchasing the Prius. You have no evidence of this. SUV sales are down something like 75% from their peak. The Prius didn’t pass the Ford Explorer in annual sales until 2007, and its volume is small compared to the Explorer – and minuscule compared to SUVs in general. The truth is that some very small percentage of SUV owners bought Priuses…And virtually no Prius owner bought an SUV.
[...] Sager writes: Chance a U.S. household that owns a Prius also owns an SUV: 1 in [...]
Welcome to the Pacific Northwest.
Most people around here have an SUV if you want to go anywhere outside of town where an hour drive can lead to an increase in 5,000ft elevation. Most people have an SUV to go on long trips from city to city while the smaller cars are used for day to day trips around town.
[...] Recent evidence on car purchasing from Haper’s Index shows the interesting fact that 1/3rd of all individuals who own a full hybrid Toyota Prius also own a gas guzzling SUV. Tyler Cowen calls this portfolio theory. Ryan Sager calls it moral self-regulation. [...]
[...] week, we talked about Prius owners who also owned SUVs. My theory is that it’s moral self-regulation: We constantly tally up our good and our bad, [...]
[...] Sager writes: Chance a U.S. household that owns a Prius also owns an SUV: 1 in [...]