<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii"> <TITLE>Message</TITLE> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2873" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <DIV><SPAN class=281451600-30042006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>I currently drive a Honda Civic. It's 10 years old w/100K+ miles, gets low to mid 30's city, sometimes 40+ highway, (not many of the new so-called fuel efficient cars today get that), comfortable and dependable. But there is absolutely no room for an action of any kind so I, too, have been thinking of getting a roomier car. All this talk of Prius is interesting, but the car that I keep looking at is the Scion xB. It gets almost the mileage of my Honda, but has loads more room. And it look really cool. Anyone out there have any experience with one of those?</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=281451600-30042006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=281451600-30042006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>-- Geoff Sykes</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=281451600-30042006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>-- Assoc. Los Angeles</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=281451600-30042006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=281451600-30042006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV></DIV> <DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] <B>On Behalf Of </B>J Patrick Draine<BR><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, April 29, 2006 11:05 AM<BR><B>To:</B> Pianotech List<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: Prius for Piano Tech?<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>Well, for starters, it's been set up in a rather confusing manner, as our legislators have been know to do. My understanding is it's up to a $3K tax credit for the most efficient hybrids (e.g. the Prius); lesser amounts for less efficient models. In addition, it applies to only the first 60,000 (or is it 50,000?) of a given model sold in this year; I think beyond that number there is a tax credit but it is reduced according to some formula. Apparently the idea was to promote various manufacturers getting into the hybrid market, i.e. not just benefitting the market leaders, Toyota and Honda. <BR>So ... if you bought your extra fuel efficient car on Jan 1, 2006, you'd be assured of getting maximum benefit. If you wait til Dec 31, 2006 ... you might be out of luck! <BR>Apparently this week Pres. Bush mentioned "asking" Congress to extend the tax rebate offer, but it's far from a sure thing that that will happen.<BR>In other words, we should probably check with our favorite CPA/tax consultant if we want to be sure of what the tax consequences of one's purchase will be. <BR>I've been teetering on the edge of a Prius purchase, but am still driving my Subaru Outback (mediocre mpg but plenty of space for tools and stuff).<BR>Patrick Draine<BR><BR> <DIV><SPAN class=gmail_quote>On 4/29/06, <B class=gmail_sendername>Fenton Murray</B> <<A href="mailto:fmurray@cruzio.com">fmurray@cruzio.com</A>> wrote:</SPAN> <BLOCKQUOTE class=gmail_quote style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(204,204,204) 1px solid"> <DIV style="DIRECTION: ltr"> <DIV><FONT size=2>Terry or whomever,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>I'm somewhat confused about the tax rebate, deduction, credit. These are different things A tax credit of 3K is 3K in your pocket, a deduction of 3K if your in the 25% tax bracket is $750 in your pocket. Any one know for sure what you get with the Prius?</FONT></DIV></DIV> <DIV style="DIRECTION: ltr"><SPAN class=sg> <DIV><FONT size=2>Fenton</FONT></DIV></SPAN></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>