Ford Focus Hated. Who did not see this coming?

[houstonscott]

In the sprit fairness to the gas and diesel car market should the electrics be subject to the same type regulations? Something along the line electric car batteries will have to made without rare earth minerals by 2020. Electric cars must get 200miles on charge by 2016. Lets play fair now.

HS

 

[IslandTractor]

In the sprit fairness to the gas and diesel car market should the electrics be subject to the same type regulations? Something along the line electric car batteries will have to made without rare earth minerals by 2020. Electric cars must get 200miles on charge by 2016. Lets play fair now.

HS

Nah, electrics are always going to be used in urban/suburban locations so putting requirements like 200 mile range on them is no more reasonable than saying that any diesel vehicle must be able to tow at least 15,000lbs or any gas vehicle must do 0-60 in 5 seconds or less.

There will be a natural niche for electric vehicles and I don't have any problem with public incentives to move that industry along.

 

[Grateful11]

Henry Fords wife never drove a gas engine car. Only drove electrics.

Over 2,000,000 Toyota Prius sold worldwide since 1997. 45mpg all day, everyday. $24,000 low end. I've had mine since 2008. 170,000 miles.

When we bought our '10 Prius in Fall of '09 we went to the dealership with the intention of buying a Scion xB. After driving it we were like nope. She saw the Pearl White Prius sitting there and said I want to drive that, as soon as she drove she knew it was for her, didn't matter if it was a Hybrid or not it's what she wanted. She gets 49.5 in the Winter and 50.2mpg in the Summer and doesn't baby it, doesn't skimp on the AC or the Heat.

On the other side of the coin her other vehicle is a big huge honking '02 Tahoe Z71 4WD with a full towing package, gotta have something to pull the 14' Cattle trailer with :laughing:

Someone mentioned that Prius's and other Hybrids aren't for the general population. I beg to differ, I see big SUV's with hitches every time we go somewhere without a speck of rust in the hitch receiver, why buy something with a towing package, that gets pretty crappy mileage and never tow anything? Sure there's people that need the space i the back but hey you can that with a wagon or a minivan. The very one's that scream we need to get off foreign oil seem to be the very one's that are always dissing Hybrids and Electrics.

 

[houstonscott]

When we bought our '10 Prius in Fall of '09 we went to the dealership with the intention of buying a Scion xB. After driving it we were like nope. She saw the Pearl White Prius sitting there and said I want to drive that, as soon as she drove she knew it was for her, didn't matter if it was a Hybrid or not it's what she wanted. She gets 49.5 in the Winter and 50.2mpg in the Summer and doesn't baby it, doesn't skimp on the AC or the Heat.

On the other side of the coin her other vehicle is a big huge honking '02 Tahoe Z71 4WD with a full towing package, gotta have something to pull the 14' Cattle trailer with :laughing:

Someone mentioned that Prius's and other Hybrids aren't for the general population. I beg to differ, I see big SUV's with hitches every time we go somewhere without a speck of rust in the hitch receiver, why buy something with a towing package, that gets pretty crappy mileage and never tow anything? Sure there's people that need the space i the back but hey you can that with a wagon or a minivan. The very one's that scream we need to get off foreign oil seem to be the very one's that are always dissing Hybrids and Electrics.

If you are ever in an accident you better hope your in the Z71.

HS

 

[IslandTractor]

The very one's that scream we need to get off foreign oil seem to be the very one's that are always dissing Hybrids and Electrics.

You have a problem with hypocrisy?

 

[arrow]

Shall we also consider the impact of Exxon Valdez, BP Gulf etc etc in the non financial costs of driving dinofuel vehicles?

I don't think electrics are ready for prime time but the only way they will get there is to pay for some development costs up front. I don't have any more trouble with rebates/credits for electrics than I do for agricultural subsidies or deductions for business expenses for things like entertainment or for exaggerated depreciation schedules such as Section 179. Each is designed to encourage some sort of "public" good and IMO are equivalent.

The part I do not have trouble with is lessoning anyone's tax burden as we pay too much already. I do not think we should have to buy something the government deems worthy ( of which most of this reasoning comes with an ulterior motive) to lessen these burdens nor anything be subsidized with our money for "the public good". I am not a believer in "consumer engineering" or "corporate engineering" as much as I am not "social engineering". Let something stand on its merit and
let the chips fall where they may. Lest this turn into a political wrangle, I'll end that line of thought. Now the way to go in my mind is to obtain a small fusion generator to make steam driven automobiles. The only thing you'll put in your tank is water. I haven't worked out the fusion part yet.

 

[powerpace]

If you are ever in an accident you better hope your in the Z71.

HS

I was in a Fire Department for eight years Training Officer and Paramedic, one thousand calls per year. Hospital ER two years, Funeral home two years. My motto after all that is "Anything can happen to anyone at anytime". My impression of large vehicles is they make bigger wrecks with more casualty's. They also are involved in more single vehicle accidents. People become over confident in their vehicle.
Prius has crumple zones and have very good protection. Look up the protection ratings for all the midsize cars.
SUV's have a tendency to rollover. (look on the back of the sunvisor) Three percent of all accidents involve a roll over but cause thirty percent of all deaths.

The majority of the plastic in the Prius is not petrolium derived. It is made from fibrous plants.

 

[powerpace]

You have a problem with hypocrisy?

I see it in forums about diversity all the time. It doesn't bother me. I know what I'm talking about.

 

[IslandTractor]

Lest this turn into a political wrangle, I'll end that line of thought. Now the way to go in my mind is to obtain a small fusion generator to make steam driven automobiles. The only thing you'll put in your tank is water. I haven't worked out the fusion part yet.

Is that a backhanded political endorsement of Newt's desire to commercialize the moon? I hear there is lots of fusion "fuel" there and that moon buggies get fantastic MPG!

 

[dodge man]

I'm not a big green person or a fan of electrics. To be fair, I have no problem with hybrids. I drove my inlaws Camry hybrid, and I liked it. I tried to detect when it was running electric or gas, and I couldn't tell. The brakes felt very normal to me. It gets great mileage for being what I would call a larger to mid size car.

I can understand why people wouldn't want to buy electrics or a hybrid, but why bad mouth them as a rule? Our government is less short sited than you think. If they don't promote this kind of technology, wind power, solar etc. we will never move forward.