Hybrids. Anyone have one?

[RatzoRC]

With the price of fuel on the rise, I might be looking at a Hybrid.
I'm curious to hear from people that have one, or who drove in one.
Forget the Honda Insight (SP).
Thats just butt ugly.
Anyone???

 

[Monkey Wrench]

Ratzo in a hybrid, now THAT'S a Kodak moment! Does the government still give that $5000.00 tax credit for purchasing a hybrid? I might be misinformed, but I thought I read you get the extra $5k for buying a hybrid.

 

[FastEddy]

Get in line.
From what I here you have to pay 3-5K over list and hang for 5-7 months.

You , the kids, wife, dog, camping equipment all in a tin / plastic can going 47 MPH down the freeway?
POST PICS!!!

 

[jon2]

My cousin got a Toyota Camry Hybrid just recently. Never seen it but I think it is the largest Hybrid available then there is the civic hybrid. The Prius I actually looked at and was interested but damn the price made me walk away. Roomy for my size. 6'2 225ish. The rear was decent.

 

[sweetdiesel]

I think the largest out right now would be the Toyota Highlander/Lexus RX300. Highlander is quite roomy, I have a reg. gas one. If you are doing this to save money on gas, don't do it. Crunch the numbers, it'll take you longer than 5 years of driving to make up the cost difference.

 

[jon2]

I think the largest out right now would be the Toyota Highlander/Lexus RX300. Highlander is quite roomy, I have a reg. gas one. If you are doing this to save money on gas, don't do it. Crunch the numbers, it'll take you longer than 5 years of driving to make up the cost difference.

Really? That is awesome an SUV? Honda is supposed to be releasing an SUV soon either the Element or maybe the Ridgeline. Regardless, it is much bigger.

 

[olds97_lss]

Your probably money ahead just buying a decent 4 banger instead of a hybrid. By the time they hybrid breaks even, it will be junk and you will need to be a new "better" one.

If I wasn't still paying for my merc, I'd get something a schosh more econimical... although, I got 25MPG average this week (600 miles worth of commute). I was driving pretty easy. 72MPH max cruising speed.

 

[Monkey Wrench]

My parents have the Lexus RX 400h and I must admit, sweet, sweet ride! Rides smooth, nice power and obviously, great gas mileage! The only thing that freaks me out about it is, when you turn the key, there's no traditional engine cranking you're used to, that, and there's no tach but a power gauge.

It is cool, though, I must admit!

 

[robriguez]

yeah we were looking seriously at the Lexus 400h instead of the Envoy but the only way we could justify the cost was if "I" drove it and the whole purpose to buying the new car was for the chick, so...

But I'm in agreement with Olds. If its not going to be a "Family Car" then the Civic would be my first choice. I think the 4 banger 5spd is rated at 32mpg?? The Camry Hybrid would be my second from everything I've read but I've never actually driven one. Leasing would not be an option for me due to the number of miles I drive (avg 500/week) The new Impala would be my third only because I've been driving them as rentals and they are surprisingly nice to drive and I think are rated at 31mpg.

According to dividing the number of miles driven by number of gallons pumped last month, I'm at 26.3 mpg in my 1998 5spd Maxima with 165k miles on it. 90-93% of that is all highway cruise controling it at 70mph. So I'm not complaining at all right now. The chick in her Brandie new 8cyl truck on the other hand is averaging 12mpg. Thank god she only drives about 500 miles/month.

 

[Monkey Wrench]

If you listen closely, you can actually hear my '99 Tahoe, 5.7 liter V-8 burning fuel while it sits in the driveway!

I've had to swallow a lot of personal pride and, {SIGH}, drive the wife's minivan for quick errands! I thought playing a SlipKnot CD in there would take the edge off the goober factor, but it actually amplified it.

Pretty humbling when 13 year olds point and horse laugh your silly ass as you drive by! I'd of stopped and given them what for, but frankly, I'd of done the same thing!

 

[neobart]

You just need to lend that mini van to Xzibit. He'll pimp your ride right up.

 

[Got Nitro?]

If you listen closely, you can actually hear my '99 Tahoe, 5.7 liter V-8 burning fuel while it sits in the driveway!

I've had to swallow a lot of personal pride and, {SIGH}, drive the wife's minivan for quick errands! I thought playing a SlipKnot CD in there would take the edge off the goober factor, but it actually amplified it.

Pretty humbling when 13 year olds point and horse laugh your silly ass as you drive by! I'd of stopped and given them what for, but frankly, I'd of done the same thing!

MW I've done the same thing when i used my moms mini van,You may think your cool,till you get outta it and people relize you have a steering wheel cover that say's Princess.

 

[olds97_lss]

But I am a "princess"!

 

[Monkey Wrench]

My vision of Ratzo in a hybrid:

YABA DABA DOOOOOO!!!!​

 

[RatzoRC]

LOL. The car will be for my wife.
I'm stuck with my AWD astro van (gas guzzler), and my company van (chevy express 3500 extended). I get about 8 MPG on that one.
My wife needs a soccer mom car, but something with good gas mileage.
She asked me about it, so I asked you guys.

I just realized, she thinks my lease on her mini van is up.
She has another year....

 

[rossb]

Your probably money ahead just buying a decent 4 banger instead of a hybrid. By the time they hybrid breaks even, it will be junk and you will need to be a new "better" one.

I agree, you probably will not save any money going with a Hybrid.

 

[Ryhton]

I would defiantly look into a good 4 cylinder car before dropping the money into a Hybrid. These things are just to new to the market and there is still a lot of unknowns with them. The actual operating costs for the long term are unsure. Batteries will be very expensive to replace when needed (rumored to be in the 4 to 6 thousand range) and there is no clear benchmark on how long they will last. Estimates are in the 5+ year range but I am sure there are going to be variables by area and how you drive. We are sending some of our techs to some hybrid classes next month to get some additional training. You have to be careful working on these things due to the electrical charge, one of the things they recommend to the techs to have close by is a dead mans stick so that if they get zapped someone close by can grab the stick to push you free of the electrical current. Do some research if you are serious about buying one to see if it is as cost effective as it looks on the surface. They were talking about hybrids at the ASA meeting I was at last week and they were saying that building them uses a lot more energy, it takes less energy to build a Hummer than a hybrid. Go figure.

 

[Plaidfish]

If you listen closely, you can actually hear my '99 Tahoe, 5.7 liter V-8 burning fuel while it sits in the driveway!

I've had to swallow a lot of personal pride and, {SIGH}, drive the wife's minivan for quick errands! I thought playing a SlipKnot CD in there would take the edge off the goober factor, but it actually amplified it.

Pretty humbling when 13 year olds point and horse laugh your silly ass as you drive by! I'd of stopped and given them what for, but frankly, I'd of done the same thing!

I laughed
I cried
then I just felt sad for you man....but I can hear you 5.7L sucking gas from down here.....I have a 3.0L and it gets worse milage than the 5.0 it had and that had a tranny that slipped a lil.......I'm going to give my truck a lil tuneup and see if I can boost mileage somewhere...


I wonder what the current draw on the hybrid motors is?
I know I'd rather get 120vac @ 20 Amps than 24VDC @ 60 Amps.....

 

[.21Rc10GT]

My dad has an 05 Accord Hybrid. I gotta say, it is one nice vehicle. Although it gets roughly 35mpg, it is more roomy, and more comfortable than the prius or alike. Its got GPS, leather interior, blah blah blah... V6

 

[retarded pilot]

this seems to have some good info on the subject

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Savinganddebt/Saveonacar/P148868.asp?GT1=8183