Toyota Prius

[powerpace]

Like anything else there will be those for and those against, and a certain percentage from each group will overstate their side's case. The truth usually lies somewhere in the middle.

Around here if they're not driving postal Jeeps the rural carriers mostly drive Jeeps, Chevy SUV's or Fords. We've recently had two that drove Crown Vics. Apparently the increased fuel costs are more than offset by lower maintenance costs.

I have a friend that's an engineer and I'd say he's very conscious of how he treats the planet. He's done a lot of research on the hybrids and electrics. He says the making of the batteries is a huge environmental issue that is mostly being swept under the rug, and in time will become a more prominent issue.

One of my customers has a hybrid car. I don't remember what it is. He indicated it got 47MPG on the highway. He said the car was expensive. I asked what the payback was. He laughed and said gas would have to be about 7 bucks a gallon for it to make financial sense to buy that kind of car. He said you don't buy these to save money, you buy them to save the planet. If that's what makes him happy, more power to him.

So I wonder what the OP did? I hope he found something more suited to carrying a load than a Prius. While they me be a fine car, what he had in mind wouldn't be a safe set up.

The preference and purchase of Hybrids is definately regional. I see that you are in Illinois, definately Ford, Chevy, Chrysler country. Research!!!!!

 

[brain55]

Obviously driving needs and location is going to determine the payback for the hybrid. If you are driving 10k miles a year and live in a part of the country where gas hovers closer to the $3/gal mark it is going to make far less sense than our 30k+ miles/yr with gas consistently pushing the $4+/gal mark.

Oh, and just to throw it out there. Though I live in a blue state I certainly have red state beliefs.

 

[IslandTractor]

Well houstonscott, I asked my wife and she doesn't know anyone using a Beemer for delivering mail; can't figure out why, they're only $20k more than a Prius. It is doubtful we would have bought a Prius for other than the mail route. The really good laugh would be watching someone with more money that brains driving a BMW to deliver mail or other similar delivery service, diesel or otherwise.
.

Houston is an All American boy who'd never buy a foreign car.

 

[txdon]

Want a good laugh Prius guys watch this...You got duped.

BMW M3 vs Toyota Prius MPG Competition - Video

HS

They said the Prius got 17mpg. I don't think so. There is a inflatable bag in the gas tank (an EPA vapor thingy) and that probably skewed the results by being collapsed or expanded differently at fill up after just 10 laps, or the Prius driver had his foot on the brake the entire time.

You are going to have to come up with something better or I'll have to buy another one. 105,000 miles, no repairs, Avg.45mpg. That's like 40K miles free gas the way I figure. I don't care how un-green it is.

 

[brain55]

They said the Prius got 17mpg. I don't think so. There is a inflatable bag in the gas tank (an EPA vapor thingy) and that probably skewed the results by being collapsed or expanded differently at fill up after just 10 laps, or the Prius driver had his foot on the brake the entire time.

Hahaha, I just watched that video, that might be the dumbest comparison I have ever seen. Prii are never driven like that, the small V8 driven at partial throttle will obviously get better mileage than the 4 cyl driven wide open, the batteries in the Prius were never in the equation. Where the Hybrid truly shines is in city and commute type traffic where you have the ability to use battery power while the engine is shut off not using any fuel.

 

[txdon]

Where the Hybrid truly shines is in city and commute type traffic where you have the ability to use battery power while the engine is shut off not using any fuel.

Only do 1% city driving and that's too much.

 

[brain55]

Only do 1% city driving and that's too much.

I bet the other 99% isn't done at wide open throttle either, lol.

 

[joshuabardwell]

Hahaha, I just watched that video, that might be the dumbest comparison I have ever seen. Prii are never driven like that, the small V8 driven at partial throttle will obviously get better mileage than the 4 cyl driven wide open, the batteries in the Prius were never in the equation. Where the Hybrid truly shines is in city and commute type traffic where you have the ability to use battery power while the engine is shut off not using any fuel.

Exactly. As Jeremy said, "At that speed, an M3 is more economical than a Prius." Run the Prius all-out while the Bimmer lopes along at 2000 RPMs and of course the Prius will fare badly. The moral of the story is: don't run a Prius at full throttle 100% of the time, and don't try to pace an M3 with a Prius.

 

[Pops15]

The preference and purchase of Hybrids is definately regional. I see that you are in Illinois, definately Ford, Chevy, Chrysler country. Research!!!!!

I have 4 local friends with hybrids. 3 of them Prius. The 4th I can't remember what he has. I see several others around town.
Yes, the big 3 still have a strong presence here as do Nissan and Toyota. My unofficial research (what I notice while driving) shows Ford is probably #1 and Nissan #2 in this area.
I visited my sis in CA this summer. I noticed an inordinate number of Toyotas out there, but interestingly not many hybrids.

 

[brain55]

I have 4 local friends with hybrids. 3 of them Prius. The 4th I can't remember what he has. I see several others around town.
Yes, the big 3 still have a strong presence here as do Nissan and Toyota. My unofficial research (what I notice while driving) shows Ford is probably #1 and Nissan #2 in this area.
I visited my sis in CA this summer. I noticed an inordinate number of Toyotas out there, but interestingly not many hybrids.

Here in the SF bay area Prii are plentiful, so are many of the other makes of Hybrids and electrics too. I joke that the only time I'm allowed in Marin county or Berkeley is when we drive her car, otherwise they wouldn't let a conservative like me in, hahaha.