Community poll forum: Would you consider buying a hybrid car?

I wouldn't buy a hybrid as i feel they are nothing more than another margin act to make it appear as though the owner is "Green".

The answer to our country's energy needs is diesel engines. The provide superior power with greatly increased range between fill-ups/recharges and comparable economy to the hybrids. You also get a vehicle of similar size to the one you are driving now and a much safer car in terms of crash resistence than the hybrids being sold.

for one thing, the batteries are expensive (not to mention heavy and bulky), and with luck (lots of it) they'll last 100,000 miles. I bet they won't last 50,000 miles, and you'll have to pay for replacement more than an engine overhaul is worth. To that you have to add the cost of regular maintenance. And if we are talking about a new technology, maintenance is going to be expensive. All in all, I think it is going to be an expensive ride. I rather buying a new generation diesel car, if am too interested in being fuel savy...

If the manufacturers believe it is such a good deal,
why the premium price ? Why not reduce the price and
go for more volume ? More on the road.. More
image promotion, more public 'testing' evaluation..

Actions speak louder than words.

albizzia: Your employer is ? You are very well
informed, make good points. If you have an
inside viewpoint, whose ? Address the above
question if you have a 'voice' in the
industry - or the 'ear' of your company
management.

The hybrid manufacturers are in it to make money, and contrary to rumours, they are making money on their hybrids. Considering the high demand and the long backlog of orders, it makes sense for the companies to keep the pricing high, but not so high that it suppresses sales. The Highlander Hybrid launch was delayed because of high demand for the Lexus RX400h hybrid, limiting the availability of parts, especially batteries. And the Lexus hybrid was delayed because of high demand for the Prius!

Toyota has announced plans to extend hybrids to all of their other car lines by 2010, but that is assuming they can get enough batteries.

The Prius comes loaded with luxuries such as power windows, power door locks, power rearview mirrors, and climate control. More profit for Toyota. Someday there may be an economy hybrid without those expensive luxuries, priced $12K to $15K.

I don't work for any car company, or any car dealer, or any repair shop. My interest in hybrids comes from a longstanding interest in energy efficiency, and from driving a Prius.

What a line of Left Wing propaganda. Are you brainwashed or what?

Yes, Diesel is a good way to go, also because it can be substituted with renewable ressources like Bio-Diesel (vegi oil, like rapseed or soy oil). Helping the farm industry AND getting independent from the Sheiks.

Hybrids are also good, if developed a bit more. I think the way to go is "plug-in hybrids". Most drivers use their cars for about 30 to 50 miles per day. So if the battery capacity is increased, Hybrids could cover this distance with ease. If you then have the opportunity to plug it in at night and use electrical energy that is cheaper at night, this would not only cover the expenses for a battery replacement after 100,000 miles and still be cheaper than gas, but also help to balance the load on the power plants, which are underused at night.

Hamako made a good point with his statement ''I think the way to go is with 'plug-in hybrids'''. I am currently producing more power than I am currently using with my solar PV system. I personally would prefer to see the 'plug-in hybrid' actually applied to a good clean diesel engine running on 'Bio-Diesel' rather than the gasoline engine, because I do prefer the smell of french fries to the smell of diesel or gasoline. I would just as soon fill the car up at McDonalds at the same time I fill me up.

When I built my solar system, I was originally planning to buy a Toyota RAV EV which was an all electric light SUV, but Toyota withdrew it from the market just before I was going to buy one. It's biggest disadvantage was the limited range because of low battery capacity. The 'plug-in hybrid' concept would avoid this problem and a 20 - 40 mile range without using the gasoline supplement / generation heavily, would really suit my needs 95% of the time, if I just could plug it in at home.

I am on the grid so the use of cheaper electrical energy at night to charge my car really would be a great idea, particularly considering that I would be getting credit for the expensive peak period power during the daytime when I have the surplus power.

Remember ''SOLAR PV'' only produces during the daylight hours and it produces much more power during those PEAK load periods that the power company charges for.

Right now, my peak power rate is $0.29372 / kWh (weekdays from noon to 6 PM) and my off peak rate is $0.08664 / kWh for everything else. Yesturday, in that critical PEAK 6 hour period I exported (sold?) 36 kWh to the utilities grid at .29 / kWh which was about a $9.00 credit that could have bought back 104 kWh of power to charge a car at the lower OFF PEAK rates.

Note: I did actually generate more yesturday, but I do use some lights, my A/C did run, and I did fix lunch using my electric stove.

I had to confirm my registration, change my password, open two new e-mails, just so I could vote. But I still can't vote... Oh well, yes I would like a hybrid car/SUV but I can't afford it. I bought my present 1999 Ford Explorer used, in good shape, but nevertheless. Obviously that choice is not available for the Ford Escape Hybrid. Any of the other ones are really too small to brave the high winds enroute to Mojave on a continuous basis. I used to do it in a Festiva so I know whereof I speak...
MvS

It's a forgone conclusion. We have to accept that oil is not a renewable resource.

So, I favor a hybrid that allows me to choose how much power is needed to continue on my trip. And that involves learning to drive a standard transmission ( the Honda Hybrids are the only vehicles offering that option .)

I average about 46 mpg on mountain driving while my daughter gets about 42 on the same routes. She is new to a standard shift!

On flat roads ( no mountains ) I can get as much as 52 mpg! And at freeway speeds averaging 75 mph!

I am surprised that automobile manufacturers have not realised the market yet! But dollars are dollars.....

If a hybrid can power a railroad locomotive, what's the hangup?

I can't make the numbers work with the current mileage output from hybrids. Gas prices need to go up significantly and the hybrids need to increase their mileage in order to make a breakeven ROI.

First and foremost, whatever variation to gas power that comes along has to be as quick or quicker than its comparable car. Second, the whole financial situation, added initial cost vs. savings, has to be favorable to me, and that means real world fuel economy instead of manufacturer quoted. The Accord is the only one to attract any interest however doesn't qualify.

Nothing fits so far, so the whole question is before its time. And by quite some time it appears. Revisit in a year or two perhaps.

The way to get cars more economical is to get them to use less fuel for the same mileage. This means making them lighter, more fuel efficient, or able to recover lost heat, for instance from braking.

Hybrids are heavier than internal combustion-only cars because they have batteries and two engines. So they have to do more work to go the same distance.

This is part of the reason that they just aren't as efficient as the average European small car, which gets 40-50mpg without all the extra stuff.

Another part of the reason is that energy conversion (from mechanical to electric and back again) is itself inefficient. That second engine-***-generator gets hot too. This extra loss is powered by gasoline paid for by you.

The only energy-saving feature of hybrids is regenerative braking, which recovers some energy normally used to heat the planet. Adding this feature to hybrids has a lower marginal cost than adding it to non-hybrids. Once the technology gets cheaper, there is no reason why we shouldn't see regerative braking on normal cars.

So overall, hybrids have a convenience advantage in town driving because they are quiet, because electric engines are more efficient from a standing start, and because braking happens more in town. But there is no free lunch. Overall, hybrids have one big and one small efficiency disadvantage built in, and one small part-time efficiency gain.

Yes, there is some loss converting mechanical energy to electrical and back again, but the losses are small. Electric motor/generators are reasonably efficient, efficient enough for use on all diesel-electric train locomotives.

Also, the Toyota, Ford and Honda hybrids all transmit a substantial portion of the power from the engine to the wheels via a direct mechanical linkage.

They don't use a torque converter, which causes substantial energy losses in non-hybrid automatic transmissions.

The new Ford SUV Hybrid (made by Honda, I think) gets 30 mpg. That is not worth buying. My Impala does that already. And that slow take off at stop lights is a hazzard in a Hybrid.

While Ford licensed some hybrid technology from Toyota (power split planetary CVT), Ford designed their own Atkinson/Miller gas engine and electric motors. Ford got their NiMH battery pack from Sanyo.