Hybrid vs. regular cars

[mgallo_b]

Pluses and minuses to both.

Though, the more I read about hybrids the more I think I'm leaning that way. But I'm hoping my poor lil' Honda holds out a few more years.

[bootsy]

Pluses and minuses to both.

Though, the more I read about hybrids the more I think I'm leaning that way. But I'm hoping my poor lil' Honda holds out a few more years.

I know the feeling. It's similar to my advice to my daughter (I"m now 81YO). Two years ago I bought a VISTA but I told her to wait until Windows 7 replaced VISTA. We're both happy with our decision. BTW, this "talk: Computers" forum helped out for me.

I leased a Prius two years ago despite the fact that it just last month registered 4000 miles. It was a luxurious Last Hurrah for me.

So take your time and start educating yourself about the global market first. Get familiar with the exchange between Direct Current Circuits and Internal Combustion Machines. I'm still learning. Subscribe to Prius forums and other brand hybrid forums.

[ch24]

Pluses and minuses to both.

Though, the more I read about hybrids the more I think I'm leaning that way. But I'm hoping my poor lil' Honda holds out a few more years.

I bought my Prius 4 years ago with 36k miles for about $17k. It's got 93k miles now and I've only done routine maintenance. It hasn't even needed tires or brakes (knock on wood). I get about 42 mpg in the summer and 35 in the winter in stop and go traffic. I've gotten 50 mpg on long highway trips. It costs $22 to fill up. It has tons of room and can fit 8' long pieces of wood with the seats folded down.

The only downside is lower mpg (by about 5 mpg) when you use gas with ethanol in it. So I make sure I find a station that is ethanol free.

Supposedly the battery is expensive to replace ($2-3k?). When I bought the car, the dealer said they came out in Japan before the US and people there have them with over 200k miles and have not needed batteries. We shall see.

All that said, when this one dies or I get sick of it, my next car will be a Prius.

[bootsy]

[QUOTE=ch24;6495975] It has tons of room and can fit 8' long pieces of wood with the seats folded down."

Gee, TNX. I have 8' oval rugs and wondered if I could fit them in my Prius. Helps out to know. Going to start putting down the seats today. Just in time Getting ready for a move. Want my area rugs in the new place before the movers. However, I could do the same with my 2001 Taurus.

While I'm here. I might add about the fuss about the Prius. I had similar problems with my 2001 Taurus. It was due to the fact that the maintenance crews both in Dallas and Maryland never did perform testing correctly. Not until luckily it happened to the tow guy at Congressional Plaza on 355 at The Container Store. I told the cop after the Taurus started working right "I just don't feel safe driving this car home." He said "Then don't!" So the car was in good working condition as I drove in the cab with the tow truck. When we got to the dealer/service and I was using the night box to explain, the tower came over to me and said "Well, the car won't start right and I had a hard time with getting it off the truck."
So then they performed the third test and discovered a randomly recalcitrant starter. I was lucky the whole time that I never had an accident because I would feel the starter being stubborn on the Dallas North Central Expressway #75. Couldn't prove it to any one.

[only1]

while the cars haven't been around long enough to have any type of long term studying done, a lot of studies currently show ethanol and hybrid cars putting out the same amount of emissions as gas cars. If these vehicles are supposed to be "greener" then why buy one if it does the same damage? I can understand it for the gas mileage but not for ecological reasons. Biodiesel seems to be the best alternative fuel with lowered emissions but it has seen a lot of resistance including, at one point, being unlawful to pursue it. It's finally becoming more and more widespread after years of being out there. I remember an activist being interviewed on a news channel about 6 or 7 years ago about biodiesel.

[NOTAGUNNUT]

I think the Hybrid craze will die very quickly when people start replacing batteries.

[Sawxfaninmd]

the problem is, when you need to replace the battery it reverses the effect you had on the environment by driving a smart car in the first place. I wish Hydrogen would get popular around here.. California already has it and BMW has been making hydrogen cars for years.

[NOTAGUNNUT]

the problem is, when you need to replace the battery it reverses the effect you had on the environment by driving a smart car in the first place. I wish Hydrogen would get popular around here.. California already has it and BMW has been making hydrogen cars for years.

Agreed. Oil companies are the ones holding it up.

[ch24]

hey, I'm not shy. My reasons for loving my car are (in this order):

1. cheaper re:gas
2. no emissions test
3. any help it may have on the environment

[Lucas718]

But it isn't really helping the environment when all those batteries end up in a landfill somewhere.

[only1]

But it isn't really helping the environment when all those batteries end up in a landfill somewhere.

supposedly the batteries are recyclable in that they can break them down and reuse most of the parts... but, yeah, there's still going to be waste... and the expense of replacing said batteries will piss off some people for sure.

[ch24]

supposedly the batteries are recyclable in that they can break them down and reuse most of the parts... but, yeah, there's still going to be waste... and the expense of replacing said batteries will piss off some people for sure.

Well if they didn't ask about the cost of them before buying the car when they saw they take up the *whole freakin back end of the car*, it's their own fault lol.

That was the first question I asked before I even drove the car.

[NOTAGUNNUT]

Well if they didn't ask about the cost of them before buying the car when they saw they take up the *whole freakin back end of the car*, it's their own fault lol.

That was the first question I asked before I even drove the car.

By the time a car needs it's batteries replaced(5-7 years) they will be worth more than the cars they are in.

Funny thing, when Detroit was building cars in the 70s that lasted 5-7 years they were completely rejected, giving the imports a foot in the door.
The real issue is that batteries do jnot ust go bad all at once. They lose their capacity to hold a charge over time, and become progressively less efficient from their first use. So even a 3 years old the batteries are not as efficient as when they were new, and the cycles of charging/discharging become more frequent, and shorter.

[thinking_man]

2 summers ago I rented a Prius for 5 days and I was very disappointed in the gas mileage. I set the cruise control at 79 MPH and only got 39 MPG. My Nissan Altima gets 31 on the highway at the same speed. The comfort from my roomy Altima compared to the Prius was not worth the small increase in gas mileage.

I have no interest in it at all.

[Duke of Earl]

The 1962 Cadillac was the last decent looking car.

[MontanaJack]

Dislike the Prius. Immensely.

[MontanaJack]

The 1962 Cadillac was the last decent looking car.

Maybe it's because I'm young but cars were definitely more interesting and fun back then. Now most of them are basically just 'transportation appliances' designed to get you from A to B as cheaply and efficiently as possible.

[NOTAGUNNUT]

Maybe it's because I'm young but cars were definitely more interesting and fun back then. Now most of them are basically just 'transportation appliances' designed to get you from A to B as cheaply and efficiently as possible.

These hit the street when I was 12. I fell in love with them then, and have one in my garage right now.

http://www.popularhotrodding.com/fea.../photo_08.html

[crabsnbeer]

By the time a car needs it's batteries replaced(5-7 years) they will be worth more than the cars they are in.

Funny thing, when Detroit was building cars in the 70s that lasted 5-7 years they were completely rejected, giving the imports a foot in the door.
The real issue is that batteries do jnot ust go bad all at once. They lose their capacity to hold a charge over time, and become progressively less efficient from their first use. So even a 3 years old the batteries are not as efficient as when they were new, and the cycles of charging/discharging become more frequent, and shorter.

Hybrids and electrics don't/won't make economic sense because of the batteries.

[only1]

I'd rather get a Smart Fortwo