All About Japan Autos

If the 2011 Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid has caught your eye, now may be the time to buy. According to Porsche, the SUV “has been certified as being eligible for the Alternative Motor Vehicle Tax Credit as a Qualified Hybrid Motor Vehicle. Customers who purchase a new 2011 Cayenne S Hybrid before December 31, 2010 or who have already purchased one earlier this year may be eligible for a one-time tax credit up to $1,800.&rdquo.

While the Cayenne is Porsche’s first production hybrid, the luxury midsize SUV is just barely making the cut for the hybrid vehicle tax credit which expires at the end of this year, “As a Qualified Hybrid Motor Vehicle, the Alternative Motor Vehicle Tax Credit of up to $1800 may be applied to the Cayenne S Hybrid customer’s 2010 Federal income tax return, which will help offset the total amount owed to Uncle Sam come tax time,” says Truck Trend. “As a credit, the $1800 won’t become an $1800 refund if your tax liability is at naught, though we’d expect the majority of Cayenne buyers to make more than enough cash to carry some form of tax liability.”

It’s a valid point, although at odds with the reason the government offered the tax credit in the first place. “The idea behind such incentives is to make the typically higher prices of hybrid vehicles easier for consumers to swallow, reports Car and Driver. “But the $68,675 S Hybrid is the second-most expensive Cayenne after the riotously quick Turbo, which means the credit nets consumers a bonus of—wait for it—just over 2.5 percent.”

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