Hybrid Cars... all hype?

[wildbill59]

Re: Hybrid Cars... all hype?

Toyota just recalled 160,000 of them today. My sister in law bought a Prius in the first year. It was so screwed up toyota bought it back and shipped it back to the motherland.<br /><br />Some diesel tanks heat the fuel using the warm engine coolant by running lines thru the tanks.Problem is when it's 20 below all bets are off. They haven't found a fuel conditioner to work yet with the bio fuel. Thanks for another gubbermint mandate.

 

[DJ]

Re: Hybrid Cars... all hype?

Hybrids are fine, as long as you know what you have.<br /><br />This is a training period for American drivers. No Hybrid is going to deliver good fuel economy at 80 MPH, with the A/C on max. and with jack rabbit starts/stops.<br /><br />I find them quite enjoyable to drive. The part I like is that they are dead silent at speeds under 35 MPH. They also have incredible acceleration up to about 35.<br /><br />They are PERFECT for someone that spends allot of time in city traffic.<br /><br />They can deliver incredible fuel economy, if you drive them as they were designed to be driven and UNDERSTAND what is going on. The intuitive displays tell you what is happening, if you pay attention. Something most drivers don't do.<br /><br />I look at vehicles, every day, with melted down engines because the driver continued to drive with every light and alarm on in the vehicle.<br /><br />I find many "defects" between the steering wheel and the seat. <br /><br />The Toyota recall was 75K units, with 480 reported "incidents".

 

[QC]

Re: Hybrid Cars... all hype?

DJ,<br /><br />I think they are cool too. It's just that a good diesel is pretty darn close, if not better economically, and hybrids are very high tech. I tend to like mechanical drive systems better. There is always a loss when you go from reciprocal energy to electric and that just kinda bugs me. I also don't like hauling around batteries . . .<br /><br />One of the coolest cars I ever drove in was an EV1. The noiselessness was waaaay cool all the way up. It also had a great holeshot!! .

 

[ZmOz]

Re: Hybrid Cars... all hype?

Yeah, hybrids are "cool", but not for more than $22,000. When they start selling them for $10-15k where economy cars should be then they might start becoming economical. Until then they're nothing but a novelty.

 

[demsvmejm]

Re: Hybrid Cars... all hype?

Originally posted by ZmOz:<br /> Yeah, hybrids are "cool", but not for more than $22,000. When they start selling them for $10-15k where economy cars should be then they might start becoming economical. Until then they're nothing but a novelty.

Until hybrids become more mainstream, they will always have a premium. Look at diesels, $5000 - $7000 over a gasoline version.<br /><br />As for bio-diesel separating at low temps, at what temp does diesel "gel"? No matter what new technology comes about, there will always be detractors yelling pooh-pooh. American drivers need a wake-up call about properly maintaining their vehicles, paying attention to dash lights, driving habits, etc. I was consistently pulling 15-16mpg in my 1995 Chevy Blazer. I started driving much more conservatively, accelerating from a stop gently, not jackrabbiting, paying more attention to traffic and anticipating modifications in speed. Now I am enjoying 18-almost 20mpg, a 20% increase by only relaxing my accelerator foot.