The entire premise of the article is not valid.

It's always more costly to purchase a new vehicle...........independent of whether it's a $hitbox or a hybrid. To attempt to utilize the cost of fuel as the sole argument to switch vehicles will never be financially worthwhile.

If you are going to sell or trade a 2001 vehicle for a newer model, independent of the cost of fuel, then selecting a more fuel efficient version will be a prudent move.

However, as most of us are aware, an older vehicle is always the better value, even with the higher fuel costs.