Hybrid cars in Jackson, Wyoming (Dubois: lease, home, college)

[wannahome2]

Does anyone drive a hybrid car in Jackson who can share some insights into how well they perform there in the winter? Are there mechanics there who know how to work on them?

[dori36]

Originally Posted by wannahome2

Does anyone drive a hybrid car in Jackson who can share some insights into how well they perform there in the winter? Are there mechanics there who know how to work on them?

I lived in Jackson for 7 years, year around, so have pretty good insight on snow conditions and vehicles. In the summer all the time, and in the winter if you don't want to leave town, a hybrid, or any little 4 banger would be ok. The town is amazingly effiicient at clearing the town streets. However, I don't think it's the "hybridness" or not of your chosen Jackson vehicle that would be of concern. It's whether or not it's a 4 wheel drive or an all-wheel drive. I can't imagine living there in the winter without that. There are lots of options now for hybrid suv's like the Ford Escape, the Chevy Tahoe and more. Those are the kinds I'd go for. You'll want a vehicle that has good ground clearance and the all wheel/4 wheel drive. Unless, of course, you enjoy chaining up on the passes during some days in the winters! There are dealers in town that can work on their various brands of cars.

[paintersspouse]

I have lived in and around Jackson for 10 years now. I have only had front wheel drive vehicles. I have travelled the canyon on a daily basis and been up an down all the buttes and in most of the subdivisions. I have never had a problem. I carry chains but have yet to have to use them.

[Brian_M]

Originally Posted by dori36

You'll want a vehicle that has good ground clearance and the all wheel/4 wheel drive. Unless, of course, you enjoy chaining up on the passes during some days in the winters! There are dealers in town that can work on their various brands of cars.

I grew up in WY and only had FWD cars for the Longest time. Got me all over the state, as well as the Rockies (college in Bozeman, lots of ski trips, drives to Denver and SLC, one trip to Banff) with nothing more than all season tires. I think I chained up a dozen times in a couple dozen years.

More recently, I've been driving a car with one of the Lowest ground clearances known (VW Jetta) equipped with snow tires. The one time I got into trouble was when I plowed enough snow infront and under the car to high-center myself. took about an hour of shoveling to get the wheels back on the ground... and lesson learned, don't try to drive up my parents unplowed driveway (they live in the boonies of MT). But I have never had an issue on the roads, even backroads, with a FWD car. I take it over my 4x4 truck 99% of the time, Especially in the winter.

As for hybrids, lots of Priuses on the roads year round in Fremont County (including Dubois). No reason why Jackson area should be any different in terms of year-round use.

Brian

[StealthRabbit]

I can't imagine the batteries would be too happy living there. (they are known to die sitting for a few days in airport parking lots during winter).

If you can keep it indoors and warm, and drive it a few times / week it might be OK. I'll stick with my $35 Diesel Rabbit that gets 50 mpg, no dinosaurs or OPEC required. (It wouldn't be terribly happy in Jackson, but they are known to live in colder places). I would get a VW Diesel Powered Samurai or Sidekick ~ 40 mpg. TDI's (newer VW diesels) do well at cold temps, there are no AWD versions imported to USA, excluding the V-10 Toureg. There are a few Diesel Golf "Country's" in Canada.

I hear Subaru will be bring a diesel to USA market soon. That would be a good ecological choice, AND you could travel WY distances handier than a conventional Hybrid. (They usually have very short driving ranges, small tanks are designed for Urban drivers). Get something with at least a 400 mile range for WY. My friends that use hybrids in their Rural Gov jobs get towed home A LOT, at home they have their own 'clean' diesels which they lease back to the GSA while their Gov vehicles are ill. They make good money doing this .

I'm not sure I would want to be traversing WY, hoping I could find a Hybrid Mechanic in the next town. Keep it simple...JMHO.

[WyoNewk]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

I'm not sure I would want to be traversing WY, hoping I could find a Hybrid Mechanic in the next town. Keep it simple...JMHO.

That's a very good point. I owned a couple Saabs and Porsches for about 15 years. I've been stranded in a few towns waiting for parts to come in from Canada or wherever. Driving a "unique" auto in Wyoming probably isn't the smartest decision.

[septocaine_queen]

Originally Posted by WyoNewk

That's a very good point. I owned a couple Saabs and Porsches for about 15 years. I've been stranded in a few towns waiting for parts to come in from Canada or wherever. Driving a "unique" auto in Wyoming probably isn't the smartest decision.

I agree with WyoNewk, we have 2 infinitis and there nearest place to get them serviced is in Denver. This year when the door seal on one of the cars had a tear, the Nissan dealership in Rapid City said that it would cost us 200 dollars not including labor to repair and they would have to order it. They didn't want to touch the car even though the Nissan Armada is essentially the same car. When we took the car for maintenance in Denver, they fixed it as part of the warranty no questions asked. Infiniti as part of their roadside service would come and get our cars and bring them to Denver if there was a problem, but that isn't convienent.

I guess if you can afford to play then you can afford to pay.

[Brian_M]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

I'm not sure I would want to be traversing WY, hoping I could find a Hybrid Mechanic in the next town. Keep it simple...JMHO.

Well, that kinda rules out the TDI VW's. There's ONE VW dealer in the state, and if you want to spend a ton of money and time waiting for your car to come back to you in worse condition than you dropped it off, then it's a good choice.

I own/drive a 2001 TDI, have 180k miles on it and maintain it myself (mostly, just moved to Denver and there's a top-notch TDI only mechanic 6 miles from my door and I let him do some preventative stuff about 2 weeks ago). I actually had one lady drive 300 miles round trip to come and see me in WY to help troubleshoot her car because I was closer AND more reliable than anyone else within double the same distance (gotta love internet forums.. heh).

So, while a Great car, not one I'd recommend for folks who need to rely on dealers. The Euro reviews on the diesel Subarus were, umm... not that great when they first hit the shores over there but I haven't followed up once I learned how terrible they were on fuel.

On the other hand, good Toyota dealers seem to be common (Fremont Motors) in WY, not to mention American car dealers for their hybrids.

The "perfect" car for me would have been a TDI Audi Allroad, but we didn't get those.

[wannahome2]

Thanks for all the tips. I would love to have a hybrid vehicle, but I've been uncertain how they will perform in rural winter conditions. I have heard that the Ford Escape Hybrid has trouble powering out of difficult snow conditions and figured that finding a mechanic familiar with the new technology would be difficult. However, I had also heard that the Prius is a common sight on Wyoming highways. I guess that doesn't necessarily mean that those drivers live in rural Wyoming. I was really hoping that someone who actually drives a hybrid year round in the area would reply so I could get some first hand advice.
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[NVDave]

Two things to keep in mind with hybrid vehicles in the winter:

1. The efficiency of the battery (any battery that is storing energy as a result of a chemical reaction, be it lead-acid or NiMH, etc) is going to go down in cold temperatures, and dramatically in temps below -10F. This means that if you're thinking that you'll get "X miles on a tank" based on summer driving temperatures, you should derate that range during winter temperatures. The engine will have to run more often to meet your energy demands.

2. One of your energy demands will be to heat the cabin, defrost windows, etc. If you have the heater turned up much of the time, or the outside wind is blowing at a good clip and sucking heat out of your car, you'll run the engine much more often than you would in summertime for the same driving demands - again, reducing your overall mileage and increasing your fuel consumption.

These don't mean that a hybrid won't work in winter, only that you will probably see significant reductions in your mileage and range with a hybrid in winters in Wyoming.