Poll: Would you buy a Hybrid vehicle?

As soon as the '06 Accord Hybrid comes out I'll be first in line.

Nate you caught the Gordon disease :-)

Heh, apparently. :)

My 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid showing here.

I once came across a web site that was supposedly an escrow site specializing in cars (the referral came from an Amazon scammer who was trying to "sell" me a TV). Several things (inconsistent reg info, contact info, etc. ) about the site suggested that it was a scam. One thing was a testimonial page with several pictures of smiling people standing in front of their cars. I wondered where they got the pictures, so I googled for "my new car" and found 3 of the pictures on random people's blogs.

I'm green with Envy.

The accord hybrid is the most useless thing I've ever seen.

The mileage is hardly any better, so what's the point?
Sure it has more power... but.... who cares about power if you can't even get a standard transmission?

For me, the point of a hybrid is to save gas.... so... until they have a practical car that does that, I probably won't get one. The closest so far is the civic hybrid... but even that doesn't get great mileage.

I'm hoping the '06 Accord Hybrid is a little less powerful and more efficient than the '05. If they can push the gas mileage over 40, it'll be a start, and they're pretty close already.

But there's also the low emission factor, which doesn't save you any money, but at least can make you feel less guilty about doing your part to ruin the planet.

Yeah, the emissions are a valid point. *nods*

I'd just need a VERY significant improvement in mileage to get me to go for an automatic.... either that, or I'd need to have a serious commute... or traffic where I live.

Or if you lost an arm or a leg, or if you acquired kids. ;)

I dunno... depends on the arm. :)

I did fine driving my car with only one arm for a while when I couldn't use one of them.

This is partly because they are marketing these cars on the basis of fuel efficiency, but really hybrids are about a better efficiency/performance equation. Most Americans demand performance over fuel efficiency. This is the reason for hybrids.

They can make cars that are more fuel efficient than any hybrid for less money right now. The problem is that they won't be attractive to Americans, because they will be smaller than Americans want, and they won't perform the way Americans expect.

It is really a mistake on the part of auto companies to be trying to sell these cars on the basis of economy alone. They really should be pushing the performance benefits. You will probably see that start happening as more of the companies come online with hybrids in the next few years.

I never quiet understood why so many people like standard transmissions so much. I guess I'm just not the target audience. :)

Yeah, I mean, I guess if I lived in a big city I'd want an automatic.... but if I don't HAVE to have one, I'll avoid it.

But, I don't want this to get into THAT old debate... cuz soon beasi will show up.... and then we'll be in a fight.
:D

I don't live in a city. :) I still have no use for standard.� But a) I don't give a crap about controlling when it shifts, b) like my power just fine without having to be in control of it, and c) am too scatterbrained to drive it well.� Automatic makes me happier all around.

yeah.. I just like the better fuel economy... the better control, especially in poor weather... and the ability to... well... drive. :D
I enjoy driving... so, I like a standard.

hehehe and there's the biggest difference, I think. I hate driving. So I want it to be the least hassle possible. :)

*nods*
yeah, makes sense. :)

If you lived in a big city, you'd be a sucker/jerk for owning a car.

I don't agree with that.... I mean, you have to leave the city sometimes.

Besides... you'd be a sucker for living in a big city anyway. :)

Try getting around LA without a car.

Because obviously, you can't drive an automatic, never mind enjoy driving an automatic. And the power? I think all automatics should just be 3 cylinder 85 horsepower engines, can't imagine why you'd need more than that if you're not driving stick. I mean, what's the point of going 0-60 in 5.9 seconds in an automatic when the standard model can do it in 5.7 seconds?! And that extra eye dropper full of gas you'll save with a standard over modern day automatics? At these prices, that's a $1.00 a month savings!!

[/nate]

:)

Heh, took you long enough. :)

Well, it's all about guys playing with the sticks...

Seriously considering for next car but a) price would need to go down or b) I'd need to be less poor when the time comes.

exactly.

My next car is just going to be a flying carpet. One with a really good sound system and a deep pile.

Word. Add to that c) hoping my current car lasts until the price of hybrids goes down or I become less poor.

The Prius is one ugly car.

And awful to drive, too.

That damned center-console thing is horrendous.... there's a great idea, put the information not in front of the driver, but in the MIDDLE of the dash.

Morons.
*cough*
:)

It's really not taht far out of the way. And the smaller wheel does give you better control of the car.

So it's inconvenient and counterintuitive... but not THAT inconvenient and counterintuitive.

;D

I suppose they could have put it in a worse spot, like, the trunk.

It's not what you are USED to. It is closer to the windshield, so you don't have to move your eyes as far off the road to check the speedometer. They did studies and shit. You can look at it and look back faster. It is just like the Dvorak keyboard. It is actually more efficient, but nobody wants to use it because it isn't what they're used to, and for THEM it is more hassle.

My mom has a prius. I wouldn't know how it drives, but it gets great milage and it has a cool screen that has arrow and diagrams and shows you where the energy is going. When you brake the engine turns completely�off.

There is a lot of disagreement about whether the Dvorak keyboard is any more efficient.

But it wrote the New World Symphony.

You're missing the point.

it makes me ANGRY.

:D

Nate smash!

Supposedly this makes complete sense for NYC cabs that idle all the time in traffic. A hybrid cab with make the savings in gas immense for them. Of course, they'll pass a gas surcharge of 50 cents for cab riders before they do this.

Unfortunately, right now hybrids are still not feasible economically. The money you save in gas doesn't make up for the money you spend on the car itself. Also, the battery inside is only designed to last 7-8 years, and costs thousands of $$$ of replace, hence your car is totaled.

"Oh, you mean people drive their cars for LONGER than 7-8 years? We didn't know that!"

In an ideal world, cabs would be fuel cell.

Unfortunately, right now hybrids are still not feasible economically. The money you save in gas doesn't make up for the money you spend on the car itself. Also, the battery inside is only designed to last 7-8 years, and costs thousands of $$$ of replace, hence your car is totaled.

well. this all kind of depends on what sort of car you were going to buy in the first place.

let's take my example. i lease.� my car, even with an employee discount, was $25k. my lease payment is around $380/mo, and if i fill up my tank once a week at over $50 a tank (and only 18mpg), that's about $200/mo on gas.

a prius starts at $21k. leases run about 3 years, depending on how you sign them, so wouldnt really care about the battery problem.� and it's a toyota, so if you bought it, basically renewing the battery after 7-8 years pretty much just means your car's life is half over, and the thousands of dollars you spend would be far less than $21k for a new one.

an accord hybrid is $32k with a navigation system, and the civic hybrid starts at 20k.

even if i bought them and paid more like $400/month for the payment, i would still be saving money over what i have now.

dont get me wrong, i like my car now. and now that i dont live in a huge city anymore (just a minorly large city :) the once a week problem will become a once every two weeks problem.

hybrids are nice, but they're not made for highway miles like you put on out here in ohio. they're for stop and go places like NYC, Boston, LA, etc. so even my requirement of "i need room for my 2 dogs" is failed by the hybrid Ford Escape because i dont sit in stop and go traffic all day.

even if i bought them and paid more like $400/month for the payment, i would still be saving money over what i have now.

Yes, but if you bought a regular civic, you'd pay even less and you'd STILL save a lot of money over what you have now. Really hybrid makes more sense in larger cars where there is no other way to get fuel economoy.

I would buy one, sure if the price were right, the power of the engine were acceptable and the gas mileage noticeably better. I was encouraged to hear that Toyota was going to make their pickups with a hybrid starting in 2006/2007. My next vehicle will most likely by a Toyota Tundra.

Right now, diesel is a really good alternative to gas power. Sure you don't remove the oil depedency, but the gas mileage is much better and the cost is much cheaper.

Right now, I fill up my V6 Camry about 3 times a month on average at around a cost of $45 per fill up. By comparison, our VW Jetta gets filled up about one and a half times a month at an average cost per fill up of around $40. My Camry gets maybe 32 mpg. The VW gets 48 mpg.

Is the VW deisel?

Yep, the new TDI-PD. Very peppy little 4-banger diesel engine. Comparable to any non-turbo charged gas 4-banger in terms of pickup and power.

Ahhh.. nice.

Yeah, the ones I drove were quite nice... I just wouldn't buy vw because of the reliability issues.
It's a bummer that toyota or honda don't make something like that.

Really? The Jetta has gotten good reliability numbers starting with the 2001 redesign. We've had no problems other than a coolant resovoir sensor going out, and then the idiots who replaced the resovoir not tightening it down and giving us a slow leak. Other than that it's almost two years old now and we haven't had any problem.

I heard you on the Toyota front. I wouldn't want to buy a diesel from them if they did start producing them, unless they bought a company that had good experience making diesel engines. It's not quite the Japanese's forte.

yeah, I know a couple people who have had awful luck with them, though they definitely have improved since 01.

Mostly electrical problems... the engines always seem to be solid.

Man, stick some DIY Biodiesel in that thing! That'll remove your oil dependency.

I wonder how that'd work with the turbo....

It'll make it smell like french fries. Otherwise there should be no discernable difference. The turbo doesn't use fuel, it uses the exhaust.

Yep! Already do. It's still a 40% blend, so there is still some dependency on oil. Unfortunately though I wouldn't want 100% Biodiesel in a cold climate. Not that Texas has a real problem with that.

well, since we just got a 05 Malibu (can't quite afford a hybrid yet) 3 months ago, we plan on getting a hybrid for our next car...many many many years down the line baring any unforseen incendents...like cars blowing up in our driveway like our last one did....

I loves my Mally Boo Boo