Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Green Living
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 04-11-2012, 05:52 PM
 
29,981 posts, read 42,812,931 times
Reputation: 12828

Advertisements

Fully satisfied Hybid owner here (Mercury Mariner 2008). It doubled the gas mileage of my other vehicle and halved the frequency required for oil changed from every 3500 miles to every 7500 miles. In a larger older SUV Iwas getting an average of 15 mpg. With this hybrid I get 34 mpg city/30 mpg hwy. I managed to negotiate a decent "deal" on it and in 5K more miles it will effectively start paying me back.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 04-11-2012, 08:46 PM
 
48,505 posts, read 96,577,071 times
Reputation: 18302
I thhnik that might have just changed as far as hybrids and recovery of cost. All asuch things are at first very high as is solar etc. The release of the Prius C at less than 19K might just chnage that. Its out sold the Volt and Leaf in tweo months with 165,000 aqdditonal odered. It persoanlly does not match my needs but I think its the first afforasble to mostwithout any taxbreak and its from a compnay weith the most experience.The real problem with wiode sporead use is the battery problem as we already have a dispoasl problem with rechargeables.The the demand for rare earth used i eklctric motors is a growig problem as well has the environmantal problems of mining enough. Electric wide spread will have environmental problems.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-11-2012, 08:57 PM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,277 posts, read 61,039,203 times
Reputation: 30165
Quote:
Originally Posted by Big George View Post
I would guess that, during hard economic times, people are figure out that the most economical car is the one that's paid for.

My daily driver is a restored old classic that averages (combined) about 20 mpg. I do not have a long commute.

THAT is cheap driving, NOT a new hybrid that gets 50 mpg, but comes with $500 per month payments.
Which car costs $500/month payments to own?

Do you mean the Tesla?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-11-2012, 09:01 PM
 
Location: WA
4,242 posts, read 8,752,432 times
Reputation: 2375
I don't know much about the battery issue other than just basic awareness of it. Are the batteries in hybrids and electrics the same? What rare metals are used in the electric motors?

This article is optimistic about recycling those batteries:
When an Electric Car Dies, What Will Happen to the Battery?: Scientific American

but who knows where the Prius batteries will actually end up.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-11-2012, 09:06 PM
dgz
 
806 posts, read 3,384,099 times
Reputation: 706
I have a Honda Insight hybrid. I like it and I would definitely buy another hybrid again. I like that it's not using as much fuel and it's great for long road trips. I think that as more people drive them, and there are more models available, the prices on the entry-level hybrids will come down. For me, the only turn-off with hybrids is the small size and the lack of towing capacity (i.e enough to tow a small camper). But over time as the technology improves, perhaps there will be more medium sized hybrids available.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-11-2012, 09:09 PM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,277 posts, read 61,039,203 times
Reputation: 30165
Quote:
Originally Posted by seattlenextyear View Post
I don't know much about the battery issue other than just basic awareness of it. Are the batteries in hybrids and electrics the same? What rare metals are used in the electric motors?

This article is optimistic about recycling those batteries:
When an Electric Car Dies, What Will Happen to the Battery?: Scientific American

but who knows where the Prius batteries will actually end up.
Li being a relatively expensive element, I would think that the batteries should have a high core-charge. Since we have a high unemployment rate, I imagine that most of them will be discarded in junkyards and landfills rather than turning them in for cash.

That is what happens to copper right?

The unemployed rip copper wiring and plumbing from foreclosed on homes so they can discard it in landfills, don't they?

Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-11-2012, 09:40 PM
 
2,729 posts, read 5,348,789 times
Reputation: 1785
Quote:
Originally Posted by forest beekeeper View Post
Which car costs $500/month payments to own?

Do you mean the Tesla?
A $30,000 car, spread out over 6 years of payments, is going to cost you $500 per month in payments.

Granted, dealers will spin things a lot of ways. They'll say they're giving you this, and giving you that. And a lot of people believe them. But when all the smoke and mirrors are removed, you're stuck paying for a $30,000 car.

Shoot, in my state, just the sales tax & first year's license on that car will run close to $3,000 - which is $250 per month for that first year.

No matter how they spin it, it all adds up to a heckuva lot of money!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-12-2012, 08:30 AM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,277 posts, read 61,039,203 times
Reputation: 30165
Quote:
Originally Posted by Big George View Post
A $30,000 car, spread out over 6 years of payments, is going to cost you $500 per month in payments.

Granted, dealers will spin things a lot of ways. They'll say they're giving you this, and giving you that. And a lot of people believe them. But when all the smoke and mirrors are removed, you're stuck paying for a $30,000 car.

Shoot, in my state, just the sales tax & first year's license on that car will run close to $3,000 - which is $250 per month for that first year.

No matter how they spin it, it all adds up to a heckuva lot of money!
Good point.

I had not thought about how much it would be without a trade-in.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-12-2012, 11:30 AM
 
2,729 posts, read 5,348,789 times
Reputation: 1785
Quote:
Originally Posted by forest beekeeper View Post
Good point.

I had not thought about how much it would be without a trade-in.
One of the things I tried VERY hard to get my own kids to see, is the actual cost of owning/operating a vehicle. It's astounding.

One of the worst parts of it is that, except for extremely rare situations, a vehicle never does anything but DECLINE in value. And if you always spend your money on things that decline in value, you'll always be poor.



...at least that's my way of making myself feel better about the fact that I drive crap.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-12-2012, 12:33 PM
 
Location: Central Texas
13,715 posts, read 31,045,132 times
Reputation: 9270
Quote:
Originally Posted by seattlenextyear View Post
Prius sales are still incredibly strong. Lumping the Honda Civic hybrid in the the Prius hurts the whole category.
You didn't read the article very thoroughly. It talks about repeat buyers. Even if Prius sales are strong now, that doesn't mean these are repeat buys nor will they buy another hybrid. I think there are very few repeat Prius buyers because the car is new enough that turnover hasn't really begun in a large scale.

The article asserts that hybrid owners might not buy another hybrid. Since the most popular hybrid by far is the Prius the data suggests Prius owners won't buy another hybrid. If they did, they would probably buy a Toyota.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Green Living

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top