Geek In Me

by Josh Loposer via greendaily.com

Back in 2004, when gas was threatening to hit the $2 mark, you could have gone to the car lot thinking: “gee, I’d like to make an eco-friendly decision about what kind of car I drive.” Or you could have thought, “I want an all-American badass machine, screw carbon footprints.” Here’s the thing: if you made an eco-conscious choice, you wouldn’t have lost 63% of your vehicle’s resale value already. Doh!

Today’s gas prices have really messed with the resale value of Trucks and SUVs. Right now, the resale value for a ‘04 Prius is twice as much as a ‘04 Ford F150. To be fair, the Pruis did cost about $4k more to drive off the lot, and if you financed it — even more. Still, as it stands, the Prius’ 2008 MSRP is $22,160 and the Blue Book value of a 2004 — $21,035. Compare that to the Ford F150 2008 MSRP of $26,140 versus the 2004 resale value of $9,670. The bottom line: fuel-efficient cars are in high demand. Gas-guzzlers are out of luck.