A question on hybrids

[old_tony]

The Ford commercial for the hybrid SUV shows in the small print "34mpg city, 30 mpg highway." Do hybrids really get better mileage in city driving than highway driving?

 

[Chi City 81]

Yes. Hitting the brakes charges the battery. You obviously don't hit the brakes very often on the highway.

 

[lantaur]

Well, actually, while it does charge the battery when hitting the break, the reason for the difference in MPH is it runs on battery on low MPH - which would be city conditions, not highway. Obviously, the more traffic you're in, the better mileage you might get.

It does take a while to get used to the car "going off" while sitting at a light.

 

[ServeItUp]

So far my Civic has done much better in the city than on the highway. Love it.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

You'd have been better off with a diesel.

It may surprise those who associate diesels with smoke-belching 18-wheelers, but a cost-benefit analysis by the RAND Corp. finds so-called advanced diesel engines provide a slight edge over gas-electric hybrids and both leave E85 in the dust.

Even more surprising? The study claims that the high cost and resource-intensive means of producing and transporting E85 - a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline - makes it less beneficial to society than using straight gasoline.

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2007/11/diesels-provide.html

And hybrids aren't cost-effective. You're looking at a minimum of 7 years before you see any actual savings.

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071028/BUSINESS02/710280333/-1/BUSINESS

 

[old_tony]

I have friends who both own Volkswagen Passat diesels and they get damn near 50 MPG. And they're nice cars. They don't even have that diesel sound.

I do note that diesel vs. gas prices are all over the map at times. Every now and then I notice diesel is much cheaper. At other times I've seen it much more expensive.

 

[zeke12]

I have friends who both own Volkswagen Passat diesels and they get damn near 50 MPG. And they're nice cars. They don't even have that diesel sound.

I do note that diesel vs. gas prices are all over the map at times. Every now and then I notice diesel is much cheaper. At other times I've seen it much more expensive.

The VW diesels are very nice cars -- but do not buy one if you live somewhere where it gets seriously cold.

Those ****ers will still gel up on you.

The regular VWs still get pretty good mileage, though.

 

[old_tony]

I have friends who both own Volkswagen Passat diesels and they get damn near 50 MPG. And they're nice cars. They don't even have that diesel sound.

I do note that diesel vs. gas prices are all over the map at times. Every now and then I notice diesel is much cheaper. At other times I've seen it much more expensive.

The VW diesels are very nice cars -- but do not buy one if you live somewhere where it gets seriously cold.

Those ****ers will still gel up on you.

The regular VWs still get pretty good mileage, though.

Thanks for that advice. They have an attached garage. Me? not so lucky.

 

[zeke12]

I have friends who both own Volkswagen Passat diesels and they get damn near 50 MPG. And they're nice cars. They don't even have that diesel sound.

I do note that diesel vs. gas prices are all over the map at times. Every now and then I notice diesel is much cheaper. At other times I've seen it much more expensive.

The VW diesels are very nice cars -- but do not buy one if you live somewhere where it gets seriously cold.

Those ****ers will still gel up on you.

The regular VWs still get pretty good mileage, though.

Thanks for that advice. They have an attached garage. Me? not so lucky.

Me, either. I would think you'd be alright cold starting, but driving into a very cold winter wind will for sure cause them to gel. Had it happen to a hockey dad with his a few winters back. We doubled back to the last town, found an open store, got him some of the fuel additive and headed back. He got it going again, we got back on the road, and as soon as he got it up to speed it started to conk out on him again.

Apparently, it doesn't get THAT cold in Germany.

 

[sportschick]

Yea, nobody can drive diesels up here, and there are a lot of trucks b/c of all the farms. Too bad.

And 2mcm, I've had my current POS 10 years. Not everybody changes their cars out every five years, so hybrids probably save money for more people than you think.

 

[deskslave]

I have friends who both own Volkswagen Passat diesels and they get damn near 50 MPG. And they're nice cars. They don't even have that diesel sound.

I do note that diesel vs. gas prices are all over the map at times. Every now and then I notice diesel is much cheaper. At other times I've seen it much more expensive.

It seems to take diesel a lot longer to respond to price changes. So if gas prices go up, diesel owners are usually in luck. They go down, the opposite is true. Though that's not happening now. Where I'm at, regular is about 3.05; diesel's around 3.50. I'm guessing it has something to do with the supply chain, but I really don't know.

 

[Football_Bat]

You'd have been better off with a diesel.

It may surprise those who associate diesels with smoke-belching 18-wheelers, but a cost-benefit analysis by the RAND Corp. finds so-called advanced diesel engines provide a slight edge over gas-electric hybrids and both leave E85 in the dust.

Even more surprising? The study claims that the high cost and resource-intensive means of producing and transporting E85 - a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline - makes it less beneficial to society than using straight gasoline.

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2007/11/diesels-provide.html

And hybrids aren't cost-effective. You're looking at a minimum of 7 years before you see any actual savings.

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071028/BUSINESS02/710280333/-1/BUSINESS

Not only that, but also if your battery pack has to be replaced and you're out of warranty, you're looking at dropping six large.

 

[lantaur]

You'd have been better off with a diesel.

It may surprise those who associate diesels with smoke-belching 18-wheelers, but a cost-benefit analysis by the RAND Corp. finds so-called advanced diesel engines provide a slight edge over gas-electric hybrids and both leave E85 in the dust.

Even more surprising? The study claims that the high cost and resource-intensive means of producing and transporting E85 - a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline - makes it less beneficial to society than using straight gasoline.

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2007/11/diesels-provide.html

And hybrids aren't cost-effective. You're looking at a minimum of 7 years before you see any actual savings.

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071028/BUSINESS02/710280333/-1/BUSINESS

Not only that, but also if your battery pack has to be replaced and you're out of warranty, you're looking at dropping six large.

The warranty on my battery is for 10 years. Don't see that being a problem.

Also, here's something from the wired article:

Maybe we're missing something, but we see some holes in the study.

First, it doesn't consider the impact of tax credits and other incentives to use alternative fuels. Uncle Sam gives a tax credit for buying a new hybrid vehicle. Tack that on to the $198 savings in operating costs RAND says you'll enjoy with your new Civic hybrid and you've met, if not exceeded, the savings you'll see with a diesel.

The study did not consider the environmental impact of black carbon, which is produced by burning biomass and fossil fuels. The researchers concede that "might bias the climate analysis in favor of diesel." Indeed it does.

Also, that article had gas prices being at $2.50 a gallon. Yikes.