Hybrid Vehicle

[AK_Chappy]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

Air bags will not kill you. They might give you a nasty bruise or scare the bejeebers out of you but you will live.

I would beg to differ with you there.
If you are belted into your seat and the air bag goes off, it is designed to be fully inflated at the point where you will meet it.
If you are involved in a "rescue" or just tinkering around and have your head in the wrong place, the bag will hit you at an astonishing speed and force.
For example, if you are not belted in and are involved in a 10-15 mph fender bender, you can be killed. It happened here in Anchorage to a 15 yr old who hopped in his parents car and was just tooling around the neighborhood. He hit a parked car at less than 15 mph. The force of the airbag hitting him is what the official cause of death was listed as.

AK Chappy

 

[JCF350]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

Well people usually do not buy a hybrid to get a ROI..... they do it to give back to the environment....... Biggest advatage of the Toyota is the resale since they retain value. A pre-owned one has already taken it's depreciation hit and is still worth more money that many other vehicles.

My wife wants a hybrid Prius ....... she drives one at work and is in love with it.

Check and make sure Toyota has fixed their power and differential module problems on these cars (can't imagine they wouldn't have by now). These modules where failing shortly after the warranty period and at the cost of over $2,000 each they ain't real cheap.

 

[JCF350]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

Not to mention the REAL threat of electricution for a rescuer that has not been trained on what to stay away from.. There are some VERY high volt/ amp wires in those things.

All the dangerous stuff not only gets disconnected but it is run inside bright yellow conduit that is marked like the pipes and conduit on a ship

 

[Bigprairie1]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

....no hybrids for me...yet. When they have been around a few more years and as a result have adjusted themselves price wise and reliability wise, etc, then I will consider it.
Right now, they don't have much in the way of pay off except for their low emissions factor. Not wanting to sound anti-green here but flying that flag is a bit of big trend right now and I prefer to quietly lessen my 'footprint' without getting on the trend bandwagon.
To be quite honest anyone...and I mean anyone, who buys a any NEW vehicle is hurting the environment not helping it. The amount of energy burned up and spent making that product will not pay back within the item itself...so be careful thinking that you are helping the green cause.
Interesting subject tho'.
BP

 

[mscher]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

We purchased this 06" Highlander Hybrid yesterday for a nice price, that also included a pre-paid 7yr/75k mile extended warranty and a 4-year pre-paid maintenance agreement. Maybe it will be the best vehicle we ever owned or the worst, we'll see. It does not have a scratch and drives excellent. Previous owner averaged about 30MPG.

We did not realize that we were also purchasing a political statement.

At a company party last night, we chit-chatted about our purchase, and received basically three different types of responses.

1. A hybrid? Why that is great!

2. What's a hybrid? Do you have to plug it in?

3. A hybrid? Have fun when you get to spend $3000 on new batteries plus paying $1000 to have the old ones disposed of. They're hazardous waste don't you know.

For some i guess I thought it was just a new designed vehicle that gets better gas mileage.

 

[DJ]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

All the dangerous stuff not only gets disconnected but it is run inside bright yellow conduit that is marked like the pipes and conduit on a ship

Actually it's bright orange. That doesn't stop the uninformed from messing with it. It's a training issue. The public is uninformed.

I find it funny how people think that a hybrid getting 30 MPG puts out less pollutants than a conventional vehicle getting 30 MPG.

 

[Bigprairie1]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

We did not realize that we were also purchasing a political statement.


For some i guess I thought it was just a new designed vehicle that gets better gas mileage.

Good point & my apologies if I inferred it as a political hot potato. I think advancing technology to improve mileage and decrease emissions is exactly the way to go and I'm 'all in' on this.
My point runs mostly to my curiousity as to why the auto manufacturers do not offer system upgrades to existing vehicles to achieve the same results and of course bring up power output if possible.
Every year cars/trucks seem to get better and better...it's great news. It would be good to roll some of those advances into the 90% (?) of existing cars/trucks out there that could incorporate the upgrades.
I think the average consumer (including myself) at times simply gets bored with their existing cars and stuff and purely wants to get something else...usually newer.
If I was to go after a Hybrid tho' I would undoubtedly target the Japanese machines and probably Toyota. I love the Highlander. It seems like a perfect size of SUV. We currently have an older 90's 4-Runner and it has been the best vehicle we ever owned.
All good.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

Congratulations. I know you will enjoy it.

The absolute worst thing you can do to the hybrid is run out of gas It can actually cause computer damage..... Then the battery runs down and the system goes nuts because it can not re-start the engine!

I know it rides smoother than my '00 4Runner.

 

[BoogieMan]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

Water has no energy unless it's falling e.g. Niagara
Maybe it's the 2009 Chevy Barrel!

Free one way commuting Hamilton to Buffalo

DUDE . Seriously I'm not joking or BSing I seen a commercial about a new Chevy I believe it was on TV not on the internet for the new technology that Chevy has come out with in an SUV, it wasn't a Hybrid it was driven by H20.

And there are vehicles I have seen that run on wave power from water sloshing back and forth in the holding tank and it generates power for a 4 wheeled automobile.

 

[mscher]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

My point runs mostly to my curiousity as to why the auto manufacturers do not offer system upgrades to existing vehicles to achieve the same results and of course bring up power output if possible.
Every year cars/trucks seem to get better and better...it's great news. It would be good to roll some of those advances into the 90% (?) of existing cars/trucks out there that could incorporate the upgrades.
I think the average consumer (including myself) at times simply gets bored with their existing cars and stuff and purely wants to get something else...usually newer.

Even though hybrids have been around for several years, they have mostly been a "niche" market, because fuel prices have been relatively low, until the last 2 years.

Now, since there is an increased demand for hybrids, the manufactures are getting premium prices (even though they cost more to mfg.) and are probably reluctant to worry about retrofits. Good business sense on their part.

The return on gas savings versus price, for hybrids may be iffy now, but could be a different story with $4 or $5 gas. ;(

I don't believe that hybrids are a fad, since the current petroleum-based fuel infrastructure (no hydrogen pumps at the kwik-Mart), are already in place and won't change anytime soon.

Expect to see many more hybrid models, getting better MPG, lower emissions and less-higher purchase prices. They expect to build batteries that will last the life of the vehicle.

Probably the biggest personal downside of hybrids and related vehicles, is that the "shade tree" mechanic is going away, probably for good. There is a good amount of joy (frustration too), of getting your hands dirty under the hood.

 

[rwise]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

Probably the biggest personal downside of hybrids and related vehicles, is that the "shade tree" mechanic is going away, probably for good. There is a good amount of joy (frustration too), of getting your hands dirty under the hood.

I have to respectfully disagree, we will learn new tricks!

 

[rwise]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

We purchased this 06" Highlander Hybrid yesterday for a nice price, that also included a pre-paid 7yr/75k mile extended warranty and a 4-year pre-paid maintenance agreement. Maybe it will be the best vehicle we ever owned or the worst, we'll see. It does not have a scratch and drives excellent. Previous owner averaged about 30MPG.

We did not realize that we were also purchasing a political statement.

At a company party last night, we chit-chatted about our purchase, and received basically three different types of responses.

1. A hybrid? Why that is great!

2. What's a hybrid? Do you have to plug it in?

3. A hybrid? Have fun when you get to spend $3000 on new batteries plus paying $1000 to have the old ones disposed of. They're hazardous waste don't you know.

For some i guess I thought it was just a new designed vehicle that gets better gas mileage.

May it serve you well!

 

[JCF350]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

Actually it's bright orange. That doesn't stop the uninformed from messing with it. It's a training issue. The public is uninformed.

You know, I had orange pictured in my mind but it didn't seem right. Thanks for the correction.

 

[waterinthefuel]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

What I don't understand is what ever happened to the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Nissan Sentra, each of which got well over 30mpg and were simple, straightforward designs with good ol' fashion engines under the hood and all had superior reliability?

My grandmother bought an '87 Chevy Caprice with a 305 V8. On the highway, that car, at close to 5000lbs, got 27mpg. That is a huge car, seating 6 very comfortably, with the AC on and sporting a carb with a very primitive computer for the engine.

If we did it in 87, why can't we do it now?

Oh, and DJ, airbags do kill. I read of a small boy on his mothers lap in the passengers seat of a car when a parking lot fender bender set it off. The childs head was removed and sent out through the side window.

 

[mscher]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

What I don't understand is what ever happened to the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Nissan Sentra, each of which got well over 30mpg and were simple, straightforward designs with good ol' fashion engines under the hood and all had superior reliability?

My grandmother bought an '87 Chevy Caprice with a 305 V8. On the highway, that car, at close to 5000lbs, got 27mpg. That is a huge car, seating 6 very comfortably, with the AC on and sporting a carb with a very primitive computer for the engine.

If we did it in 87, why can't we do it now?

Tightened vehicle exaust emission standards, probably have the biggest effect on overall lower mpg figures.

The standards were changed drastically from 1990 on.

 

[DJ]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

What I don't understand is what ever happened to the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Nissan Sentra, each of which got well over 30mpg and were simple, straightforward designs with good ol' fashion engines under the hood and all had superior reliability?

My grandmother bought an '87 Chevy Caprice with a 305 V8. On the highway, that car, at close to 5000lbs, got 27mpg. That is a huge car, seating 6 very comfortably, with the AC on and sporting a carb with a very primitive computer for the engine.

If we did it in 87, why can't we do it now?

Oh, and DJ, airbags do kill. I read of a small boy on his mothers lap in the passengers seat of a car when a parking lot fender bender set it off. The childs head was removed and sent out through the side window.

We still do make cars that way. My parents '06' Grand Marquis gets an honest 25+ if you drive it reasonably. That 25+ is at highway speeds at 70+. Around town, it rarely dips below 20. That is with a strong V-8.

Yes, air bags CAN kill people if you are uneducated enough to have a CHILD ON YOUR LAP. Plus, that read smells of an urban legend.

Parents make cars unsafe for children, not the cars.