Hybrid car owners - what do you think?

[eryque]

There's one problem with the Chevy Volt program: It's a Chevy. When a friend was trying to sell her mint condition Monte Carlo with 120,000 miles on it, she was surprised that no one wanted to pay her asking price. I told her that 120,000 Chevy miles are like 180,000 Asian miles, and that no one wants to pay much money for a car with that many miles.

The good news about the Volt is that they made it big and mean and scary looking, so the crowd who use their car as an extension of their genitalia will be attracted to it as well.

[scooteraz]

Originally Posted by CharlieO

...A friend has a couple of Smart cars that he has imported to the U.S. I'd definitely consider one for just running around town.

Just curious, since you've been around them. I have seen several up close, but how you got to the engine compartment in a 2-door Smart car has eluded me. The one I looked at recently looked like one has to remove the dash (or the front "sheet metal", which appears to be mostly polymer).

Do you know?

[Tdot]

Originally Posted by eryque

There's one problem with the Chevy Volt program: It's a Chevy. When a friend was trying to sell her mint condition Monte Carlo with 120,000 miles on it, she was surprised that no one wanted to pay her asking price. I told her that 120,000 Chevy miles are like 180,000 Asian miles, and that no one wants to pay much money for a car with that many miles.

The good news about the Volt is that they made it big and mean and scary looking, so the crowd who use their car as an extension of their genitalia will be attracted to it as well.

Actually the problem with the Volt is the fact that it's a concept car. Sounds great on paper, but I can't buy one from the dealer.

As for the good news, it's not likely that it will ever be produced as it appears in the artist's rendering or engineers spec's, if it's ever produced at all (like previous concept examples). In the computer software industry the Volt would be called vaporware.

On the other hand, a Prius isn't the ultimate solution but it is an improvement, it is a nice car, and I could actually buy one and drive it everyday.

[scooteraz]

Originally Posted by Tdot

Actually the problem with the Volt is the fact that it's a concept car. Sounds great on paper, but I can't buy one from the dealer.

As for the good news, it's not likely that it will ever be produced as it appears in the artist's rendering or engineers spec's, if it's ever produced at all (like previous concept examples). In the computer software industry the Volt would be called vaporware.

On the other hand, a Prius isn't the ultimate solution but it is an improvement, it is a nice car, and I could actually buy one and drive it everyday.

Rememer, GM developed the EV-1. You could lease it for three years, then they took them all back. Too hard at the time to justify from a cost standpoint, or from a service standpoint. One wonders if they will treat the Volt the same, lease it as a proof of concept vehicle.

I agree the Prius is a good solution. If you are looking for a higher cost/complexity Corolla, or if you want to test the current state of the technology. And, Toyota has become the GM that GM always wanted to be. So much so that I think it was Consumers Report that called the Avalon the "...best Buick money could buy...". Well built, decently engineered (except when you have to fix the buggers; my daughters old Tercel just loves to kick my butt when it needs servicing).

[eryque]

Originally Posted by Tdot

Actually the problem with the Volt is the fact that it's a concept car. Sounds great on paper, but I can't buy one from the dealer.

Well, okay, there's that :)

[Tdot]

Originally Posted by scooteraz

Rememer, GM developed the EV-1. You could lease it for three years, then they took them all back.

Well, somebody could lease one, but they weren't accessable to me. It was almost an undercover program. In fact, like most people, I never even saw a real EV-1 on the road.

I love concept cars because they do indicate the direction for the future. For many many years I've seen concepts from Asia and Europe that evolve into street versions. For some reason Detroit acts like it's a wacky fashion show for designs the consumers will never buy or wear.

If Honda and Toyota can put it on paper and take it to production, why can't/won't Ford or GM do it? Some consumers are happy to be on the edge of any technology as owner/testers that lead to the next level of improvement for everyone else.

Oh well, that goes into another area. For now and back to the topic, the Prius is not just a novelty hybrid, overall it's a much nicer car than I expected. After having one for a week I would definitely look at one again when searching for a new car.

[CharlieO]

Originally Posted by scooteraz

Just curious, since you've been around them. I have seen several up close, but how you got to the engine compartment in a 2-door Smart car has eluded me. The one I looked at recently looked like one has to remove the dash (or the front "sheet metal", which appears to be mostly polymer).

Do you know?

I'm sorry, but I haven't really checked them out very closely, like looking under the hood. I have only seen them when he has had them parked in front of our office with "For Rent" signs on them. At this point, they are a novelty, and tourists will rent one for a day to go to the beach. In two years they'll be everywhere, and his business will be dead.

I was thinking that I'd be one of the first in the U.S. to buy a Smart cabrio, but I really think that I'll wait for this:
http://www.smart.com/-snm-0135035552...2FEVPandR.page

[scooteraz]

Originally Posted by Tdot

Well, somebody could lease one, but they weren't accessable to me. It was almost an undercover program. In fact, like most people, I never even saw a real EV-1 on the road....


Oh well, that goes into another area. For now and back to the topic, the Prius is not just a novelty hybrid, overall it's a much nicer car than I expected. After having one for a week I would definitely look at one again when searching for a new car.

When they first got to Phoenix, I would see two regularly in my cross-town commute (why is it when the kids are settled in schools on one side of town and THEN you get the cherry job on the other side?). One I only saw for a couple of months, and the other I saw real regularly for the 2 or three year life of the program. Interesting little car, and I mean little. My old Suzuki Sidekick was huge next to it, and I think my old 914 had as much interior and trunk space. The Prius is a regular grocery yacht by comparison.

[BrassRat]

I'm wondering if the best-of-breed combo isn't the 4-motor electric with a fuel cell backup of some kind (pick your favorite combustible)?

Not sure what the efficiency of this is (presumably better than an IC engine on a generator), but it is definitely the min number of moving parts anyway, saving both weight and maint costs.

[CharlieO]

Originally Posted by scooteraz

When they first got to Phoenix, I would see two regularly in my cross-town commute (why is it when the kids are settled in schools on one side of town and THEN you get the cherry job on the other side?). One I only saw for a couple of months, and the other I saw real regularly for the 2 or three year life of the program. Interesting little car, and I mean little. My old Suzuki Sidekick was huge next to it, and I think my old 914 had as much interior and trunk space. The Prius is a regular grocery yacht by comparison.

They weren't really that small for a commuter car:http://avt.inl.gov/pdf/fsev/eva/genmot.pdf They were a few inches shorter than a Scion tC, and weighed almost exactly the same (2970 pounds). I remember sitting at a stoplight in Phoenix, watching an EV-1 approaching in my rear-view mirror. When the left-turn arrow turned green, it zipped silently past my open window. Right then, I knew that I needed one.

[sullivj1970]

Originally Posted by Tdot

50-60 mpg next year Big Man. (I love the background tune)

Tdot, that commercial is my life as a tall person in a nut shell. Well that and the ten times a day someone asks you "how tall are you?" as if it matters...
I can't wait to get my energy efficient tiny vehicle and have the clown car effect when I pile out of it.

[studio1087]

I am considering a Prius for my next car. I've bought a new Accord every other year for 10 years. I drive about 25,000 miles per year in sales management. I need a laptop, a briefcase and me. I've never needed a big car for work. We have three kids but my wife drives a Honda Pilot and it's the family bus.

I haven't heard any real stories about battery trouble. My brother in law bought a Civic Hybrid about 18 months ago and he loves it.

I'm a Honda lover but the new Civic looks too squashed to me......I wish that they could have kept the older body for the hybrid.

The Prius looks roomy and the hatch back is very spacious.

Just enough car is just enough car.

We pull a 5000 pound horse trailer with a Honda Pilot and we have countless friends who tow nothing and have two kids/no pets yet they drive SUV's that are much bigger than a Pilot. They drive Expeditions to the mall to buy underwear. Dumb.....it's dumb behavior.