Pizza Lover
New member
I'm not sure about hybrids, but I do think it is getting increasingly less practical to buy cars like SUVs and hummers. I mean, I would rather have a fuel efficient car than the ability to off-road... when do I ever do that?
Hybrid Car ??
- Thread starter CaptHasting
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Dirrty Dani
New member
Good response Ed. While you are right about the physics of a cruising car (someone once estimated that 6 horsepower is all that's needed), and the fact that smaller engines generally don't work any harder at such speeds, smaller engined cars (esp. 5-speeds) have lower gear ratios to account for lower torque and horsepower. This means that in a smaller-engined car, you will be running at a higher rpm than a large one. The difference varies along with a lot of other factors, and of course, the faster you go, the more you use!
If you can't afford a hybrid car, I would get like a sedan type of car, that's if you don't plan on halling anything though.:sweat: My car is a 2001 Buick LeSabre, and it's gas mileage is unbelievable. I can drive for 4 hours and only take up a half tank of gas.
And doing your usual maintenance like replacing the filters and whatnot regularly, should increase the gas mileage more too.
And doing your usual maintenance like replacing the filters and whatnot regularly, should increase the gas mileage more too.
Well since we're on the subject of hybrid cars, I think the real difference here is that the current 2008, and 2009 models will be completely different from the upcoming 2010 models. For example While Toyota has it's Prius hybrids out now as well as the GM/Saturn Aura and Vue (which is a Hybrid SUV). The New 2010 models will have a function where it will be where you will be able to plug the car into a standard wall outlet and get a charge in about 12 hours or so. But the range on the "Plug ins" are limited to about 40 miles before they lose their charge. But it's because of the computer technology that is on these cars that will make then unique in 2010.
Because when the battery runs down on the 2010 models, the motor will be automatically started so that the gas engine will take over charging the car.
There's hints and rumors that these new "Pluggables" will be capable of 40MPG, but I'm a bit of a skeptic here, and figure that it might be 30MPG at best.. still good gas milage, but not to the point where you'll get better gas milage than most Honda inline engines today on most 2008 models of Honda. (In fact the first car I can attest is the 1977 Honda CVCC which got up to 51 mpg on the high way.. But will we ever see a car to get 60MPG and is a hybrid? That remains to be seen..
But would I buy a hybrid at this point? Not really, as the tech is still too new and that they haven't worked out the kinks for the cars to perform within a realistic reason of 40MPG. But give the car manufacturers time, they'll work out the kinks.
:coyote:
Because when the battery runs down on the 2010 models, the motor will be automatically started so that the gas engine will take over charging the car.
There's hints and rumors that these new "Pluggables" will be capable of 40MPG, but I'm a bit of a skeptic here, and figure that it might be 30MPG at best.. still good gas milage, but not to the point where you'll get better gas milage than most Honda inline engines today on most 2008 models of Honda. (In fact the first car I can attest is the 1977 Honda CVCC which got up to 51 mpg on the high way.. But will we ever see a car to get 60MPG and is a hybrid? That remains to be seen..
But would I buy a hybrid at this point? Not really, as the tech is still too new and that they haven't worked out the kinks for the cars to perform within a realistic reason of 40MPG. But give the car manufacturers time, they'll work out the kinks.
:coyote:
This technology is used right now in all current model hybrids to recharge the batteries, which is why none of them need to be plugged in. The difference between the pluggable ones and the standard model hybrids is that the pluggable ones can drive in pure electric mode (or what my brother-in-law calls "golf cart mode") for much longer. 40 MPG is what most hybrid cars get right now. Going plug-in is already boosting mileage ratings to over 100 MPG.
This is all news to me, since, as I said earlier, my 2003 Civic Hybrid is averaging 40 MPG in real-world driving over the lifetime of the vehicle (and this is from my ridiculously obsessive spreadsheet, not the MPG meter in the car), and this is in pure city driving (and mostly by my wife, who isn't as good as I am at maximizing mileage while she's driving). The HCH also isn't the most efficient hybrid out there, either -- the Honda Insight would score in the 50-60 MPG range regularly in real-world driving, and real-world Prius owners regularly report averages better than 40 MPG.
The "kinks" you describe are gone. They were never there even five years ago. There are production issues, like the impact and availability of battery tech, and demand issues, but hybrids are here now and perfectly usable if you're willing to pay the extra money.
-- Ed
This is all news to me, since, as I said earlier, my 2003 Civic Hybrid is averaging 40 MPG in real-world driving over the lifetime of the vehicle (and this is from my ridiculously obsessive spreadsheet, not the MPG meter in the car), and this is in pure city driving (and mostly by my wife, who isn't as good as I am at maximizing mileage while she's driving). The HCH also isn't the most efficient hybrid out there, either -- the Honda Insight would score in the 50-60 MPG range regularly in real-world driving, and real-world Prius owners regularly report averages better than 40 MPG.
The "kinks" you describe are gone. They were never there even five years ago. There are production issues, like the impact and availability of battery tech, and demand issues, but hybrids are here now and perfectly usable if you're willing to pay the extra money.
-- Ed