Does anyone here own a hybrid car?

I have a Prius, and I like it a lot. It just drives, you don’t notice the transition to all electric, gas, gas and electric, it just does it. It is very quiet when you are on battery only, which you might notice if you are going through a parking lot or something. Pedestrians will not notice you.

@Snarp Neato! So, how much would you say you save on gas?

From the left-liberal sentiments expressed here on a regular basis, I’m sure that I’m the only person here who still drives a gasoline-powered internal combustion vehicle.

I’m sort of surprised, though, that I don’t see more wind and solar-powered vehicles on the road, considering that nearly everyone here is so in love with that technology. (And I’m not the only sailor, am I?)

Yep. It’s insanely quiet, and would be the perfect vehicle for a stake-out. :) I also don’t notice the gas to battery transition, it just sorta makes the switch smoothly.

I went from an older Jeep to my Escape hybrid, and the difference in my gas expenses is astronomical. Totally worth it.

My mom drives a hybrid SUV. I’ve driven it before and I’ve ridden in it many times. I agree that you don’t notice it switching between gas and electric. It just becomes silent when you go very slowly. It gets about 30 miles to the gallon, which is pretty damn good for an SUV. I think the advertisement originally claimed it would get 36 and then the claim was lowered. I don’t think it’s ever gotten that high before.

@jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities Wow…..I hate buying brand new cars. I’d rather buy a two year old car and save money….do they have used hybrids for sale yet?

I had a Prius, two years ago for about a year and a half. No power, annoying dashboard, digital everything, no sense of security. Major dislike. Felt like I was driving a golf cart, not a car.
I have a Saab 9.5t with an ecoengine now. Power, size, ability to carry things and pass on the highway and uphill. Much better and still good on gas. About 375 per tank.

@Val123 Yep, mine was used.

What did you pay for it @jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities? It’s weird that on fluther everyone’s first name is “At.”

No. I do not own a car. I do not even hava a license. Public transportation and my legs perfectly fulfill all my needs.

@ragingloli That’s because you’re too young to drive!

@Val123 $24K

@Val123 I couldn’t say how much we save on gas. The Prius is my wife’s car, and our driving habits have sort of changed, we now drive her car when we are together instead of mine, plus I don’t really pay attention to how often she gets gas and we’ve had it less than a year. If it was the car I drive every day I could tell you exactly.

I have given up owning any sort of car. I use a bike and public transport.

@jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities Ach! I’ll wait till the prices drop!!

My wife has a Camry hybrid. She likes it.

I bought my Prius in 2003 for $20K- it was the showroom car therefore “used” with about 200 miles on it. I get about 43 mpg without nursing it. Other people in my family had the Honda hybrid a couple of years earlier, but I didn’t want it because it’s not a hatchback. That’s what gets me by in the carrying-things department.
I was never used to having a very powerful car so it seems quite torquey to me.

For the love of god NO!

@Cloverfield Why you say that like that???

@Val123 Well, I’ll admit I have something of an agenda, I worked in the motor trade for the last 10yrs. However, the Prius is a truly dreadful car to drive, just awful, & it’s a strange mix of dull yet hideous. However worst of all, from what I’ve read over the last 6yrs, it’s not even that good for the environment. Yes, it cuts your fuel consumption, however a modern diesel will give you similar MPG. However a diesel doesn’t require all sorts of rare & exotic metals to be shipped all over the world, causing all sorts of wonderful new environmental issues along the way. To me, it’s a bit of a white elephant… more of a fashion accessory than a real attempt to help the environment.

@Cloverfield Hmmmm. I didn’t know any of that. Thanks!

@Val123 – I don’t get the part about the Prius being dreadful to drive, but one friend of mine says that too. Dunno. But… I haven’t heard the part about them being bad for the environment, or I’d never have bought the stupid thing. You mean the need for lithium for the battery? Or? Please elaborate!

@Cloverfield I’m with @susanc….could you give us some more details?

@susanc the fact that the Prius (and most hybrids that I know of) depends on a government subsidy (same as “ethanol from corn” to compete with gasoline as a liquid fuel) in order to compete in the marketplace should tell you that it’s more expensive than you’ve been led to believe.

Without subsidies, the markets for most “alternative energy sources” would not compete with what we currently have. Hybrids are just one example.

I own a Ford Fiesta with 65 miles per gallon. It does beat a hybrid over longer distances without a lot of stop and go traffic. Hybrids are excellent in a city reusing deceleration energy. Plug-in hybrids can even use electricity from renewable energy sources. If the electricity comes from coal-firing plants the plug-in hybrid is worse than a diesel when comparing CO2 emissions.

@Val123 @susanc Well, here’s a little flavour for you, cant remember all the exact details, it’s been a few years since I read the article. However, if I remember correctly the Nickel in the battery comes from a mine in Canada, it’s then shipped to Europe for refining, then onto China for further processing into a sort of foam, then onto Japan where the finished foam is put into the battery casing & finally into the car. Thats alot of shipping around the world just for a battery.

I have a plug-in pure electric. Built it myself based on a 1964 VW single-cab pickup truck (one-ton suspension and plenty of room for the batteries). I don’t use it on the highway, but I get up to 200 miles at about 35 mph out of a full charge (it has a top speed of about 65 mph but a very low range at those speeds). It uses standard lead-acid batteries, the current battery set is 7 years old and still working well. Most of the electricity used to charge it is wind or photovoltaic from our farms generation.

We had almost bought a hybrid , M-B S400 Hybrid. I had researched it, test driven one and ordered one. It was not exactly a fuel-sipper, but gave the performance of a V8 and still got 24 mpg. I had intended to buy it for my wife; I cancelled the order following her death (there was a 6 month waiting list, I sold my place on the list for slightly less than the down payment I made to get on the list). Those S-class M-Bs are built like a tank, if Meghan had been driving one that day she’d likely still be alive and well.