Thinking of buying a hybrid -- discuss

Do they come with a self-righteous attitude or is that optional?

 

That's true, and something I've never understood --- why don't people coast into stop lights? It doesn't cost you a second of time, it saves gas, and it saves wear on your brakes. Win, win, win.

 

It's optional and in fact the same price as the head-up-their-ass attitude of the gas guzzlers.

 

I can't imagine caring enough about my great, great, great grandchildren to pay that much for a car.

 

Will the $$ work out? Probably not.

I drove my buddy's Leaf the other day; a pure plug-in with 100 mi. range. Really fun to drive and the early torque/power is pretty sweet. The electronic system is so much more efficient than the combustion engine.

However, just 100 mi. range right now and I'm thinking of waiting a bit.

 

I bought an '07 used Prius in '09 to save money on gas. My prior vehicle was a Ford truck. So, yeah, I saved a ton in gas money. I don't give two shits about the environment. I sold it after I lost my job earlier this year, but I don't miss it. It's not the most exciting car to drive.

 

I wouldn't. These are the reasons why:
• They are seriously lacking on power. Good luck merging on an interstate. 0-60? In a couple of months. The newer diesels are torquey and fun to drive, believe it or not. Much improved over my smoky GMC Suburban diesel from the 70s.
• A diesel like a VW is a much more mechanically reliable device and will get you better mileage on the highway cycle to boot (in a recent comparo, a much-bigger Jetta got only 3 mpg worse than a Prius). Hybrids have big batteries, which rely on a chemical reaction to generate current. Those batteries eventually wear out. A diesel is good for 300K minimum since it's so overbuilt (to withstand the incredible pressures in the combustion process). A hybrid? 100K might be pushing it. I'm all for new technology, but when it comes to your daily commute, I prefer something bullet-proof, like a diesel. Besides, I'm the type of man who pays off a car and runs it until the wheels roll off. I've put 250K and 190K twice on cars. I don't trust a hybrid to reach that mark and if it did, it'd likely be a bigger slug than before.
• It's a car for dorks, wimps and enviro-obsessed, holier-than-thou types who worship Gaia and eat too much tofu. It looks like a nerd's shoe, by Jove. You will get cut off in traffic, trust me. No one respects a Prius, least of all SUV drivers and truckers. It's a point of derision, not pride, amongst most of the motoring public.

 

An electric car will be a financial decision for us when the time comes.

Right now I drive 40 highway miles each way and my wife drives about 10 miles each way, and those miles are mixed.

I am guessing in about three years we will start looking.

We have 70K on a Hyundai and 120K on a truck right now. I will never sell the truck, or I will always have a truck. Hopefully we can get 200K out of the Hyundai, and since we are throwing about 40k a year on it right now, it will hit 200K pretty soon.

We also do not believe in selling cars until the doors fall off, so I see us having three cars in three years with payments only on one (the electric car).

Three years should also give people a good idea about the durability of these vehicles.

I would love to be the person who drives the electric car, if I can get the milage out of the battery I need.

If we can drive the electric 2000 miles a month, that would take away about 66 gallons of gas or about $230 a month. When I also consider how I can save seven stops at the gas station, then this decision becomes easier and easier.

So I will be very interested to see what technology is available in three years.

 

No.

 

Diesel is more expensive per gallon than regular unleaded gas, too.

The rest of Bamadog's post is also arguable.

 

These are electric cars.