Hybrid Cars

[mamajumps 0]

Whats your opinion? With gas prices thru the damn roof, I am considering getting a hybrid car this coming March. I am considering the Honda Civic, just b/c its not as homely as the Toyota Prius. I have always been a truck person, but 40-60mpg is very attractive. I don't know a whole lot about the different hybrids on the market. I have done a little bit of research, but am seeking "real" opinions from ya'll...thanks!

[millertimeunc 0]

One word: don't. The fuel economy on hybrid cars isn't really worth it for what you'll eventually end up paying in maintenance for the car's electrical system. If you want to save money on gas, get a VW golf or jetta diesel, and then drive it forever, or modify it to run on vegetable oil.

The best things in life are dangerous.

[ExAFO 0]

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...Jetta diesel, and then drive it forever, or modify it to run on vegetable oil.

...what he/she said.

Illinois needs a CCW Law. NOW.

[hokiejmpr 0]

I would tend to agree. I made the same argument to my wife when she wanted to save the planet by getting a hybrid. I lost. we got a civic.

It's actually not a bad little car, I found myself driving it more than my jeep when my wife was out of the country for a few months.

I do feel pretty smug when I fill it up once every 3 weeks for 25 bucks, but I don't think it will be worth it in the long run.

Keep in mind, that the "EPA estimated MPG's" are always about 15% better than what a normal driver will get. 15% of the 50mpg advertised for a hybrid is a much bigger difference than 15% of the 14mpg's that a truck gets. So don't be dissapointed when you actually only get about 42 or so.

I think they (the EPA) recently changed the way they mesure MPG's, but I'm not sure....

[BikerBabe 0]

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One word: don't. The fuel economy on hybrid cars isn't really worth it for what you'll eventually end up paying in maintenance for the car's electrical system. If you want to save money on gas, get a VW golf or jetta diesel, and then drive it forever, or modify it to run on vegetable oil.

yup.

i'm a tree-hugging, sierra club card-holding green freak, but we will be getting a jetta (or maybe even a BMW) deisel once CA finally catches up to the rest of the damned world next year and actually allows them to be sold in the state.

If our current car craps out before then...well, we'll drive to vegas and buy one.

Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

[shropshire 0]

Have you looked at L.P.G fueled cars? That fuel is very cheap in the U.K

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[Andrewwhyte 1]

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Have you looked at L.P.G fueled cars? That fuel is very cheap in the U.K

Really tough to find fuel outside the big cities in the US.

[billvon 2,990]

>One word: don't. The fuel economy on hybrid cars isn't really worth it for
>what you'll eventually end up paying in maintenance for the car's electrical
>system.

We have two hybrids with 100,000 miles between them. (Civic and Prius) No problems so far. There's no scheduled maintenance on the electrical system, and the traction battery has made it past 300,000 miles. Out of hundreds of thousands of Priuses sold so far, they've had to replace fewer than 10 batteries, and most of them were due to things like a stereo installer driving a screw through it.

With the Prius we average between 38mpg (driving like maniacs) and 62mpg (being really careful.)

>If you want to save money on gas, get a VW golf or jetta diesel, and then
>drive it forever, or modify it to run on vegetable oil.

That works too. And the newer diesels are a lot cleaner, easier to start and quieter than the 1980's circa diesels.

[shropshire 0]

Thanks.... They (over here at least) are hybrid Petrol/L.P.G switchable. But if you dont live near a suitable station, then you wouldn't gain much of a benefit, f'sure.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[DJL 235]

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One word: don't. The fuel economy on hybrid cars isn't really worth it for what you'll eventually end up paying in maintenance for the car's electrical system. If you want to save money on gas, get a VW golf or jetta diesel, and then drive it forever, or modify it to run on vegetable oil.

Ditto. The cost of fuel will need to be at about $3.75/gal for you to break even depending on how much you drive (I drive alot). The mod to veg oil is about $1.5k in materials and you can have a shop install it.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[mamajumps 0]

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The mod to veg oil is about $1.5k in materials and you can have a shop install it.

So ya'll are being serious about having a car modified to run on vegetable oil??? Never heard of it....

[squirrel 0]

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Whats your opinion? With gas prices thru the damn roof, I am considering getting a hybrid car this coming March.

Sounds like this is a money question, and not a enviromental one. The way I have always kept driving more economical is to buy used cars. I mean really "used," like not running, or damaged. Nothing like getting a car for next to nothing, putting some good old elbow grease into it, and have a fine running car for less than a couple of months payments of my buddies shinny new truck, that he puts a dent it the first week on the job! Learning how to work on your own car is worth its weight in gold. Like today, I am replacing the wheel cylinder on my old jeep...it will take me 1 hour, parts were $20....a garage would easily charge me $250.

________________________________
Where is Darwin when you need him?

[billvon 2,990]

>So ya'll are being serious about having a car modified to run on vegetable oil?

All diesel cars will run on biodiesel, which is modified vegetable oil.

Most diesels will run on vegetable oil mixed with kerosene, a stopgap measure.

All diesels will run on HOT vegetable oil. The key is HOT. Most SVO (straight vegetable oil) mods have two parts:

1) heaters to heat the fuel

2) a valve that lets you start the car and shut it down on regular diesel

For more info:

http://www.greasecar.com/

[AllisonH 0]

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We have two hybrids with 100,000 miles between them. (Civic and Prius) No problems so far. There's no scheduled maintenance on the electrical system, and the traction battery has made it past 300,000 miles. Out of hundreds of thousands of Priuses sold so far, they've had to replace fewer than 10 batteries, and most of them were due to things like a stereo installer driving a screw through it.

Any thoughts on pros and cons of the hybrid Civic vs Prius? They're both on my list of things I'd like to check out before I buy my next car. I had a regular Civic for a little while and loved it until I smashed it up... Of course I'm hoping my current car (a little Saturn with >110,000 miles on it) will keep running for a couple more years. It gets over 30 mpg and is paid for

[billvon 2,990]

>Any thoughts on pros and cons of the hybrid Civic vs Prius?

Civic:

More "conventional" operation (uses a key to start it and has a transmission stickshift)
More "conventional" looks
Floor is lower

Prius:

Looks different than your average car (LCD screen, no real 'dash')
Bigger inside
Hatchback is nice
A little more efficient overall
Few moving parts; no transmission

[mamajumps 0]

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Prius:

no transmission

What? Is Fred Flintstone hiding out in the trunk?

[billvon 2,990]

>What? Is Fred Flintstone hiding out in the trunk?

Not quite! To be more accurate, the transmission/clutch/torque converter is replaced by a single planetary gear called the Power Split Device (PSD). All the stuff that a transmission usually does is replaced by the PSD. It's pretty ingenious when you look at the details of it. Here's a good site:

http://eahart.com/prius/psd/

[sinjin 0]

well gas is 3.75 a gallon in montecito, ca and was hitting 4 bones on the summer holidays.. and who knows where the gas prices are headed in the next two to five years.. if gas goes way up,, the tree huggers will be giving us the finger on the way by the gas stations..

dont let life pass you by

[DJL 235]

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The mod to veg oil is about $1.5k in materials and you can have a shop install it.

So ya'll are being serious about having a car modified to run on vegetable oil??? Never heard of it....

http://www.greasecar.com/

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[ryoder 1,590]

I'll be a lot more enthused about hybrids when they start including the option to charge them from household AC, so you can make short trips w/o burning fuel at all.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[skytash 0]

so as I'm averaging around 48 mpg on my Honda Jazz, I'm actually saving the planet more by driving a smaller car more economically than if I had a hybrid civc ?

tash

edited to add: and when the mpg dropped recently I checked my tyre pressure, filled them back up and now use less fuel again

I'm waiting for a hybrid diesel that I can run on its own electricity and vegetable oil! Saab are developing one and nice Saab 93 that runs carbon neutral sounds good to me (I know it's not carbon neutral to build in the first place!)

Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

[DJL 235]

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I'll be a lot more enthused about hybrids when they start including the option to charge them from household AC, so you can make short trips w/o burning fuel at all.

Plug-ins are being developed (in some countries) as cars or bikes but what you suggest is sort of counter to the concept of saving energy. For those short trips…walk, run, bike. When did life get so busy and arduous that we need AC and a radio just to go a few blocks? One way that a hybrid engine maximizes energy usage is by minimizing weight. The batteries that will make that trip to the corner store so cheap lose their value when you have to haul them all over tar-nation.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[ryoder 1,590]

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For those short trips…walk, run, bike. When did life get so busy and arduous that we need AC and a radio just to go a few blocks?

I cycle 100 miles/per week. Now show me how to carry home 4 bags of groceries from the supermarket on foot or on my bike.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[DJL 235]

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For those short trips…walk, run, bike. When did life get so busy and arduous that we need AC and a radio just to go a few blocks?

I cycle 100 miles/per week. Now show me how to carry home 4 bags of groceries from the supermarket on foot or on my bike.

BAM!!!

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[PLFXpert 0]

I always rent Prius' when I travel. I love them!

But, I wouldn't buy one as my personal car for a few reasons. Maybe in ten years if they're still around.

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.