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.
So with the cost of batteries going down and more power, why arent car makers going hybrid across the line? You would think with solar in the south, you have lot of hood and roof space for electric cars or charging the batteries.
The ROI just isn't there. Period.
A new Toyota Prius will cost approximately $10,000 more than a similarly equipped Nissan Sentra. Even if the Prius gets 10 mpg better mileage than the Sentra, you've got to drive a heckuva lot of miles just to pay back your initial investment.
Don't want to pay thousands more for the car and thousands on top of that if the batteries fail. The payback is not there. Cheaper to get a lightly used Camry and get 25-35 mpg. I keep cars 10+ years and well over 100k miles.
South Dakota is a cold climate and mpg advantages disappear when you try to drive a car and its 5 degrees outside.
A friend from GM told me they have had 2 volt battery failures since the Volt was introduced. It seems battery failure is a bit of a myth. Sure they will fail eventually, but the car must be pretty well worn out by then.
So with the cost of batteries going down and more power, why arent car makers going hybrid across the line? You would think with solar in the south, you have lot of hood and roof space for electric cars or charging the batteries.
Reason #1: Not everyone wants a hybrid.
Reason #2: Hybrids cost more.
Reason #1: Not everyone wants a hybrid.
Reason #2: Hybrids cost more.
I would actually be perfectly happy to own a Prius. Not an electric car, but a Prius.
The reason I don't is because my wife drives a small car to & from work, and my vehicle is a truck. Her car is an older classic Volvo that I have no intentions of racking up tons of miles on. Any time we go out of town we rent a car, and put the miles on somebody else's vehicle.
The bottom line is that it makes no financial sense for us - right now - to own a Prius.
For all those scared of the cost of replacing a Hybrid Battery, if after 5-8yrs, is it not close to $3-4000 for an engine failure or $2-3000 for transmission failure on a non hybrid car?
So its still a game of odds. So hopefully one doesnt get engine, transmission and hybrid battery issues.
Me personally, I would get a hybrid and just replace it after 5-7 yrs, or learn to how to replace hybrid batteries myself if I wanted to keep it longer.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,550 posts, read 81,131,933 times
Reputation: 57755
Quote:
Originally Posted by SAAN
For all those scared of the cost of replacing a Hybrid Battery, if after 5-8yrs, is it not close to $3-4000 for an engine failure or $2-3000 for transmission failure on a non hybrid car?
So its still a game of odds. So hopefully one doesnt get engine, transmission and hybrid battery issues.
Me personally, I would get a hybrid and just replace it after 5-7 yrs, or learn to how to replace hybrid batteries myself if I wanted to keep it longer.
yes, and since Hybrids still have an engine and a transmission, it's just one more expensive replacement cost to worry about. It seems like some of the hybrids are not about saving fuel as much as boosting horsepower with supplemental electric motors. For example, the 2015 BMW 7 Series hybrid has 350 HP,
while the 3.0 non-hybrid has only 255. The mileage benefit is very slight, 19/29 and hybrid 22/30.
According to a consumer magazine the hybrids do require LESS maintenance than a comparable regular car. Toyota has been building their Prius for a long time. Very few problems. Using Prius as
Taxi cabs in many cities not just California.
According to a consumer magazine the hybrids do require LESS maintenance than a comparable regular car. Toyota has been building their Prius for a long time. Very few problems. Using Prius as
Taxi cabs in many cities not just California.
I would say full electric cars do, but with a Hybrid, you introduce a big battery and electric motors to the question of gas engine and transmission, so the only less maintenance would be on replacing brakes as often.
10yr old Corolla: engine or transmission can fail
10yr old Prius: Engine, Transmission, and battery could fail and not to mention, trying to troubleshoot a hybrid. Hopefully the computer can pinpont any problems.
The entire global economy basically runs off of oil. Not saying I support that, but one of the biggest users of oil, is automobiles. This new battery technology is fantastic, and I really do hope that progress continues to be made to employ more of it in our daily lives. BUT, this has greater implications than just environmental improvements. This technology has to be introduced into everyday lives at a controlled pace, and not shock the system too hard to cause the main driver of the economic engine for the past many decades to go into complete shock. Because, that's just not good for any of us.
I do think more "hybrid" technology needs to be used on all cars. Maybe not 100% battery powered just yet, but certainly more battery "assist" would be excellent! I still don't understand why my car needs to use gasoline when I'm inching along in a traffic jam. Why can't it have a battery-powered motor on one of the wheels to inch it along instead? And then when through the traffic jam, the electric motor disengages and the gasoline motor takes over. The car has the auto start/stop feature, but is so annoying that I always turn it off (and because that just can't be good on any engine to be cycling on/off that much).
So, I am absolutely on board with this technology being deployed more and more to help the existing setup, with the goal of eventually becoming 100% electric in the future.
A new Toyota Prius will cost approximately $10,000 more than a similarly equipped Nissan Sentra. Even if the Prius gets 10 mpg better mileage than the Sentra, you've got to drive a heckuva lot of miles just to pay back your initial investment.
You're comparing the Prius which is a decent but slow larger compact to a miserable car built to a very low price point.
My C-Max cost the same as a Focus, $20k, but gets 35-40 mpg in all types of driving, will probably never need new brake pads, and in general costs very little to maintain.
Hybrid tech would be great on trucks and offroad SUVs. Instead of 15mpg, you could get 25mpg which is a substantial cost savings. You'd also get a bunch of torque from 0 rpm
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.
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.
