Hybrid Cars
So, I've decided that the next car I get should be a hybrid. But I was curious as to what kind of hybrids were available outside of the U.S.
Currently in the U.S. we have 4 models available with 2 more on the way later this year.
Honda: Insight
Civic Hybrid
Accord Hybrid (on the way)
Toyota: Prius
Lexus Hybrid SUV (on the way)
Ford: Escape Hybrid
BTW, has anyone seen the Mitsu Eclipse Hybrid concept, sweet.
Currently in the U.S. we have 4 models available with 2 more on the way later this year.
Honda: Insight
Civic Hybrid
Accord Hybrid (on the way)
Toyota: Prius
Lexus Hybrid SUV (on the way)
Ford: Escape Hybrid
BTW, has anyone seen the Mitsu Eclipse Hybrid concept, sweet.
Comments
Originally posted by ZO
get a bicycle
Yeah! Obviously you haven't tried riding a bike across town in Fayetteville, NC. I used to do it every summer. I might as well have been signing my own death warrant. Seriously.
But, I am really curious about hybrids outside of the U.S.
www.hybridcars.com has mostly good info, good starting point for research at least.
Hybrids are definitely the future, hopefully they will continue to get more efficient and more economical in the next 5 years, so that when I might be looking for a new car it will be a kick ass hybrid.
Originally posted by Wrong Robot
I was pretty gung ho about getting a hybrid myself. But really, it's hard to justify them economically at the time being. Once you can get 50-60 MPG from a $14000 car, then it will be, but paying an extra $4000 to get a car that will give you 10-20 more MPG, is essentially just buying $4000 worth of gas up front. I ended up with a Regular Honda Civic LX, and so far I've been pleased with its fuel efficiency. I get about 425 miles to a tank, which isn't bad. The honda Civic hybrid gets about 650 miles to a tank.
www.hybridcars.com has mostly good info, good starting point for research at least.
Hybrids are definitely the future, hopefully they will continue to get more efficient and more economical in the next 5 years, so that when I might be looking for a new car it will be a kick ass hybrid.
Well, my consideration for the hybrid is more than the economy of it. Besides it's at a point that used hybrids are available.
Just doing some reading on some enviromental issues and feeling a bit guilty.
Originally posted by Wrong Robot
I ended up with a Regular Honda Civic LX, and so far I've been pleased with its fuel efficiency. I get about 425 miles to a tank, which isn't bad.
I get about 340 miles on my Civic EX... what gives....
Originally posted by ShawnJ
I get about 340 miles on my Civic EX... what gives....
Well to be fair, this was the first 400 miles, so I was driving the car really easily, and also, I probably miscalculated
Originally posted by LiquidR
Well, my consideration for the hybrid is more than the economy of it. Besides it's at a point that used hybrids are available.
Just doing some reading on some enviromental issues and feeling a bit guilty.
right, I fully understand exactly where you're coming from. But, many cars these days have really low emissions, and fuel efficiency is still way better than it used to be(for the most part)
Right now we're at the very start of this whole hybrid nonsense. The ball is just getting rolling. I think that in the next 5 years there will be, not only multiple hybrid models by each manufacturer, but the flagship models will offer better efficiency, and be cheaper than today.
Used Hybrids typically don't see much of a price difference between the new ones because hybrids in general are such high demand items. But yea, if you found a used one that was more economically feasible, I'd say go for it.
Understand, I love hybrids, I've been eagerly awaiting the technology to drop and mature for 6 years now. In some ways I regret not getting a hybrid, but it really just wasn't all that feasible for me at this time.
Originally posted by Wrong Robot
right, I fully understand exactly where you're coming from. But, many cars these days have really low emissions, and fuel efficiency is still way better than it used to be(for the most part)
Right now we're at the very start of this whole hybrid nonsense. The ball is just getting rolling. I think that in the next 5 years there will be, not only multiple hybrid models by each manufacturer, but the flagship models will offer better efficiency, and be cheaper than today.
Used Hybrids typically don't see much of a price difference between the new ones because hybrids in general are such high demand items. But yea, if you found a used one that was more economically feasible, I'd say go for it.
Understand, I love hybrids, I've been eagerly awaiting the technology to drop and mature for 6 years now. In some ways I regret not getting a hybrid, but it really just wasn't all that feasible for me at this time.
Yes, current vehicles have a lot better emmissions, but from the info I've read the hybrids can have up 90% cleaner emmissions. Wow, 90%, that's pretty significant.
I know I'm not going to talk anybody into it. And economically for me, it may not be the best choice. (I'll cross that bridge when I get there) But I'm laying out some of my considerations for why I'm leaning this way.
Plus, I hope that if I do go this route that my early adoption of this will set a good example for someone else.
An SUV hybrid is kinda an oxymoron in my books. More of a joke really. I'll stay away from that thankyouverymuch.
Straight electric cars are not always cleaner than gas cars. The energy required to charge the battery (depending on the source like coal/fission power plants) can sometimes create more pollution than a simple gas engine. Also, charging a battery can be very innefficiant, depending on the battery type. This was one of the problems with the EV1, among others like chargers shorting out and various safety concerns. Hybrid cars are better because they use would-be wasted kinetic energy to charge the battery.
Originally posted by Ebby
An SUV hybrid is kinda an oxymoron in my books. More of a joke really. I'll stay away from that thankyouverymuch.
Yea, I mean, and SUV getting 25 MPG instead of 15 MPG is a good thing, but like... I don't want more people to be driving SUVs, it's ridiculous enough already.
Originally posted by Ebby
Straight electric cars are not always cleaner than gas cars. The energy required to charge the battery (depending on the source like coal/fission power plants) can sometimes create more pollution than a simple gas engine. Also, charging a battery can be very innefficiant, depending on the battery type. This was one of the problems with the EV1, among others like chargers shorting out and various safety concerns. Hybrid cars are better because they use would-be wasted kinetic energy to charge the battery.
Yea, Hybrid cars kick ass at making good use of energy. Which is another perk to getting one, in that, you're getting a car with lots of neat, functional whizbang doodads that actually make a difference.
Perhaps not practical, I dunno, but would be interesting to look into none the less.
According to one cabbie, they're almost 3 years along and their first car is just now going in for battery replacement (it was an early first generation model used for engineering testing). Otherwise, fleetwide they're paying lower fuel and maintenance costs (jurisdictions with Aircare emission tests/fees are doing even better with the Prius).
I've been in a couple and was quite impressed by them.
Indinstinguishable performance from most cars their size, plus a groovy display letting you know how cleverly your gadgets and whizbang doodads are doing da doodad day. < Camptown racetrack five miles long...
Best undocumented feature:
At stop lights and/or when the gas engine shuts off, the car is silent.
Totally whisper quiet (good soundproofing) if you like peace and quiet,
but also a much cleaner acoustic environment for your music.
If you're going to test one, take your favourite CD and be amazed.
Originally posted by LiquidR
So, I've decided that the next car I get should be a hybrid. But I was curious as to what kind of hybrids were available outside of the U.S.
Currently in the U.S. we have 4 models available with 2 more on the way later this year.
Honda: Insight
Civic Hybrid
Accord Hybrid (on the way)
Toyota: Prius
Lexus Hybrid SUV (on the way)
Ford: Escape Hybrid
BTW, has anyone seen the Mitsu Eclipse Hybrid concept, sweet.
read consumer reports on hybrids, first the mpg they list is based on a 30 year old govt test, the reality is that you get 20-40% LESS than listed, you would have to drive 130+ thousand miles to break even with the added cost even WITH the tax breaks. also the batteries may not last, some "jaws of life" are afraid of using them on hybrids due to megavolts. i looked into it, you can get a toyota corolla for 5-7k less than the MSRP of the prius (but most dealers are asking 5-7k over list) and save money. corolla gets 35-38 prius gets about 44. prius is the best, but has trouble with cross winds. BE CAREFUL that you don't spend yourself nuts to save some gas and end up paying interest on aging technology. My advice get the mazda 3 5sp( has the best mpg of the small cars and is safe) or VW diesel sp to save gas $$$. but if you are trading in a car to save gas dollars, the loss from that transaction can't be made up with the savings from gas. I wish they had more diesel options across the line, thats the technology that will work, look at europe. also consider the jeep wrangler with the diesel. 06 gets low sulfer fuel so diesels can run cleaner like ones in europe--the common rail design with direct injections is nothing like the old smelly diesels totally cool i'd drive a diesel in a heartbeat if i could get it in my minivan. do the cost analysis
Originally posted by Ebby
Straight electric cars are not always cleaner than gas cars. . .
My point is that one should consider total energy cost if one is factoring in the environment seriously.
Ultimately, as far as conserving energy, the best new car you can get is probably a Lotus Elise. It's 1900 pounds and made largely of glass reinforced nylon, which incidentally requires much less fossil fuel to manufacture and fabricate than does sheet metal. An extra thousand pounds of metal requires a phenomenal amount of energy to process. Much more than the gasoline you'll save.
Originally posted by Wrong Robot
I was pretty gung ho about getting a hybrid myself. But really, it's hard to justify them economically at the time being. Once you can get 50-60 MPG from a $14000 car, then it will be, but paying an extra $4000 to get a car that will give you 10-20 more MPG, is essentially just buying $4000 worth of gas up front. I ended up with a Regular Honda Civic LX, and so far I've been pleased with its fuel efficiency. I get about 425 miles to a tank, which isn't bad. The honda Civic hybrid gets about 650 miles to a tank.
I understand that a straight comparison of a civic to a civic hybrid etc indicates that you pay more for a hybrid. It is a fair comparison.
However, I would argue that lots of people pay more for their cars for all kinds of minor options. Take most of the SUV drivers in San Francisco. They paid a lot to drive 30 miles an hour and use a bunch of gas. My little Hyundai Accet gets to the store just as fast for half to a third of the price. Sure there are reasons to buy bigger better cars, but really most people spend a lot of money for something that gets them there no better than a cheap car would. So I feel if you want to spend on a hybrid, it is no more silly than spending it on an extra pair of speakers or cup holders with leather trim. Your spending your money on fuel-efficient engine technology rather than than on a fuel-hungry monster.
Just thought I would offer a different perspective on it.