Automotive Forums

In case anyone's curious, I got 26 MPG after 1,000 miles in this Ford Escape Hybrid.  WEAK.
 

Here's something you'll care about: Irvine gas prices

 

 Hmm, looks like Prius is still winning by a landslide -- a 2/3rds landslide. What, they don't count the Silverado/Sierra Hybrids?
 

 
Toyota Motor Corp., which was the first automaker to commercially mass-produce and sell hybrid cars, continues to dominate the market. The Toyota Prius, which went on sale in the United States in 2000, occupied 64 percent of the U.S. hybrid market last year, with 53,761 new Prius cars registered, Polk said.  

  Toyota is on track to double Prius sales again this year. The company sold 22,880 Prius cars in the first three months of the year, more than double the number it sold in the first three months of 2004, according to Autodata Corp. Toyota has said it plans to produce 100,000 Prius cars for the North American market this year.  

  The Honda Civic hybrid was second with 31 percent market share. Honda Motor Co. also sold several hundred Accord and Insight hybrids, which each commanded 1 percent of the market.  

  Ford sold 2,566 Escape hybrid sport utility vehicles, or about 3 percent of the market, Polk said.
 

 California was again the top state for growth in hybrid vehicle registrations. More than 25,000 new hybrids were registered in California, a 102 percent increase over 2003. Virginia, Washington, Florida and Maryland rounded out the top five states for hybrid registrations, the same as in 2003.  

With the increasing rise of gas prices and a more conscientious society for cleaner air to breath, I  believe hybrid technology is the wave of the future.  Not overhyped or the latest trend. It comes with pricing that is less than appealing.  More importantly, one should also consider when purchasing their hybrid, or any vehicle,  is resale value. Compare the resale value percentages of the vehicle you're looking at buying and go find one that is better. It might get you re-thinking about your investment.

I think it was Mitsubiatch that said it best. I concur.  Now the high rollers who sport the spendies can be environmentally conscious.

cmr/jtsang wrote:

with the growing popularity of hybrid vehicles it seems like they're here to stay. but while doing research i found strong arguments both pro and con. is it worth it to invest in this technology now and have it possibly become antiquated in the near future? or do the increased costs actually balance out with the money saved through increased mpg and government sponsored rebates. you get to drive in the carpool lane regardless of the number of occupants, that's gotta be worth something.

...and getting back to real-world terms, hybrids have been around since late 1997 when the first Prius came out, and in America since late 1999 when the Honda Insight hit our shores.
 

cmr/CrunchyCookie wrote:

...and getting back to real-world terms, hybrids have been around since late 1997 when the first Prius came out, and in America since late 1999 when the Honda Insight hit our shores.

I don't know if this is true but for people who like to race i'd have to say, "stick to the the 2007 cars and below because i've  heard that newer cars will be coming with governers that only allow your car to reach a top speed of about 90 MPH.  Also if you try to remove the governer it'll fry the computer chip and therefore all you'll have is a pile of junk.  It's only a rumor but still something to worry about for the racers.  

Two words ----------- Fuel Cell
 

Put into perspective the fuel economy numbers posted on a new vehicle's window sticker. Studies show the average driver only gets 75 percent or so of the mileage figures that are on the sticker.

You see, the numbers aren't derived from real-world driving but from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emission testing procedures on brand new vehicles. The laboratory procedure is not reflective of on-road driving for a number of reasons. For one thing, the cars don't use gasoline in the testing. For another, the test procedure still assumes highway speed limits are 55 miles an hour.

Gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles typically are priced higher than non-hybrid counterparts—anywhere from a couple thousand dollars to several thousand dollars.

For example, Honda's Civic Hybrid has a starting manufacturer's suggested retail price of just under $20,000 for a manual transmission version in the 2005 model year. A 2005 Civic LX gasoline sedan with manual transmission and many comparable features carries a starting MSRP that is some $4,000 less

But even if drivers maximize their fuel savings and get the full 13-mpg benefit in the Hybrid, they'd need about 16 years of 15,000-mile annual travel before the gasoline savings—estimated at $2.25 a gallon—would recoup the $4,300 extra they paid for the Hybrid over the Civic LX.  

On-road testing by Popular Mechanics magazine—comparing a Civic Hybrid with a higher-priced, uplevel Civic EX—showed a similar result. Magazine officials took the cars on a cross-country run and concluded the Hybrid saved about a penny a gallon in fuel costs.

Thus, buyers of the Hybrid would need to travel 144,000 miles—about 9.5 years at the 15,000-mile-a-year national average rate—to recoup the approximately $2,000 price difference in these cars, Popular Mechanics said.