One thing keeping me from
One thing keeping me from considering a car like this as a daily driver is that I make at least two long trips cross-country, and spend a lot of time in mountain ranges. My vehicle now can just about keep up on the inclines, but I wonder if the Clarity could keep up on the climbs. (As it is, I'm looking to get something with a V6, next time out.) It would be a great commuter car, though, and I could see owning one in a two-car household.
The only downfall is the cost--the $7,500 savings is in the form of a tax credit, not an immediate rebate or discount on the purchase. Unless you can borrow $7,500 to put on a downpayment, and replenish that with your tax credit in the form of a refund, the savings will not end up being applied to the monthly payment. I could scrape up $7,500 if I needed to, but I wonder just how many buyers actually know to do this, in order to bring down their monthly payments.