Last week Ford angled for a big PR splash by announcing that the Lincoln MKZ hybrid would be priced the same as the regular MKZ–implying that they were giving away the hybrid bits for free.

The media, always looking for an eye-grabbing headline, bought it. Overlooked: the MKZ hybrid has a four-cylinder engine, while the base MKZ engine is a V6. In the Fusion, the 3.0-liter V6 costs $1,600. Figure another $1,000 for the 3.5-liter V6, and they’re essentially charging $2,600 for the hybrid bits. Which wouldn’t be newsworthy.