Who drives a hybrid car? or would purchase one?

[KellyFG]

to me "what we want"(especially if its a self serving choice) & green living don't fit together.
Make all the excuses you want but as long as you support big oil our country will NEVER be green.
Driving gas guzzling SUVs because we "want to", shopping at wholesale clubs & buying more crap than we need, making more garbage than we can get rid of, and just generally not giving a damn about the impact we have on the planet is why most of the world hates us. Until we get over ourselves & our wants, we will not see a change.

I live on long island & drive on one of the most congested, tractor trailer filled expressways in the country, I'm 5'8" & my son is 6'4"...I drive a Prius.
I'm all about choices though, like my Granny used to say
"there is a seat for every ass"
I'm glad you found yours.

[TXboomerang]

I have no intention of buying a hybrid for at least 3 or 4 more years. The technology needs to improve. It will get cheaper and more reliable with better performance over time. I'm not going to get stuck with one of the current models only to wish like crazy in 2011 that I hadn't forked out so much for it.

Will get one eventually, but its not even on my to do list. Besides, getting rid of your old car to buy a new one isn't really conserving resources. Its throwing away one thing for something new. Sure the old car will get used somehow, but its still getting used, so I don't see a net gain in getting a hybrid just to have a hybrid.

[mainesnowflake]

I want to buy a Prius, I am waiting until they've been around a couple years to get reviews on them and to purchase used.

[TXboomerang]

I've heard that the repair cost for some major scheduled thing on the hybrids is around 5K. Not sure if its about that on all of them or if they vary.

Gotta love the new hybrid GMC Yukons though. They get a whopping 21MPG city. I guess its better than nothing, but not sure I'd tout that as being fuel efficient.

[emilybh]

Originally Posted by chuck22b

Just curious as to how many people drive a hybrid car on the board, and if so would buy an all electric, or plug-in hybrid in the future. Would you buy American, ie. the Chevy Volt, or another American branded hybrid if it was available and performs just as well or better than the Prius/Civic?

I drive a hybrid civic right now... but would consider an all-electric/ plug-in hybrid made by an American company in the future.

What are your thoughts?

-chuck22b

My sister has a Prius being a very GREEN thinking person however, I don't think she did her homework regarding the potential ill health effects driving a car with an electric core that goes under the drivers seat might have. It creates BIG electromagnetic fields. I would 't do GREEN if I had to sacrifice my health to help the environment's.

[CelticLady1]

Originally Posted by KellyFG

to me "what we want"(especially if its a self serving choice) & green living don't fit together.
Make all the excuses you want but as long as you support big oil our country will NEVER be green.
Driving gas guzzling SUVs because we "want to", shopping at wholesale clubs & buying more crap than we need, making more garbage than we can get rid of, and just generally not giving a damn about the impact we have on the planet is why most of the world hates us. Until we get over ourselves & our wants, we will not see a change.

I live on long island & drive on one of the most congested, tractor trailer filled expressways in the country, I'm 5'8" & my son is 6'4"...I drive a Prius.
I'm all about choices though, like my Granny used to say
"there is a seat for every ass"
I'm glad you found yours.

Even if I wasn't driving what I "want", it still doesn't change the fact that I also need a larger vehicle, because it's just a little bit hard to haul things like hay around in a Prius. Anyone who owns horses, cows, etc., can attest to that little fact. I also don't intend to drive a Prius down to the fishing hole, etc. If folks want to drive a Prius, and it works for their lifestyle, more power to them, but it doesn't work for mine.

Personally, I've never made a claim to green living, as such, although I do what I can, in other ways. That may not be green enough for some folks, but, as there are very few people in this country that can make the claim that they live entirely green, (all of us impact the earth, in different ways), I'm not going to beat myself over the head because of my choice of vehicle. Except for folks who drive vehicles that use ethanol, (which appear to have their own problems), and those who drive electric cars, (also with their own problems), we all support the big oil industry, whether we drive a tiny tin can, or a giant gas guzzler.

As I said before, I hope the auto industry starts making SUV's and trucks that are more environmentally-friendly, user-friendly, and affordable. I'll be happy to buy one when they do, (although, on my budget, I'll still probably have to wait to buy a used one). But, until that happens, I guess the seat for my backside is going to have to be what I have, now.

Please stay safe in your Prius on that congested expressway, and I mean that in all sincerity. It makes me cringe whenever I see someone driving in a tiny little car on a busy road. Frankly, all the gas-savings in the world aren't worth the risk to me. But, as you said, it's all about choices.

[wanderintonc]

I'm not so worried about safety in a smaller car, personally, as to the fact that by law, I need seven seatbelts to transport my family. Therefore, I need a minivan or a SUV. Since I do not personally like driving an SUV, I will stick with my deteriorating minivan and await a hybrid minivan. But, I'd buy a Prius in an instant if my family fit-it's good on the highway, I've driven a friend's.