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Oh, wonderful! I'm looking for another vehicle, and I want one with the durability of my pickup (which just passed 300,000 miles this weekend) but with better gas mileage. I'll be looking at Volvos now - had thought they'd be too heavy to get that kind of mpg.
I suggest a Prius. They are surprisingly comfy inside, and 50 mpg goes a long way toward easing the gas crisis! I don't know what I'd do right now without mine.
I want one of these so bad but there's a huge waiting list and a price tag I can't afford right now! Motorcycles are out of the question but I am looking at the Mini Cooper Clubman (bigger than the original) (37 on the freeway!). Fun with a little get up and go. Most of my clients follow me around and in the event I have to bring a client with me, I can use our other car.
Did you hear on the Today show this morning how long you have to own these hybrids to have the money come out of it....years and years....ofcause it is good if you need a new car to buy one of them, but to trade it in todays market makes no sense, because you will lose on your own car and that doesn't make up for the gas prices right now..
I want one of these so bad but there's a huge waiting list and a price tag I can't afford right now! Motorcycles are out of the question but I am looking at the Mini Cooper Clubman (bigger than the original) (37 on the freeway!). Fun with a little get up and go. Most of my clients follow me around and in the event I have to bring a client with me, I can use our other car.
Have you seen the "smart", It seats 2, here is the information link
I'd like to test drive it, it seems to me that it got great interior space design and mileage (3 cylinders).
When I saw at at the MB dealership there was this very tall/big guy inside the car and he was telling his companion how comfortable it was.
I'd like to test drive it, it seems to me that it got great interior space design and mileage (3 cylinders).
When I saw at at the MB dealership there was this very tall/big guy inside the car and he was telling his companion how comfortable it was.
There's a feature in today's Atlanta Journal about Smart cars:
I'm not sure about them -- they don't get the best mileage.
As far as the poster considering a Mini Cooper -- my former business partner has a Lexus and a Mini and clients frequently request to be taken out in the Mini. They think it's cool -- of course, Minis are also not really engineered for fuel efficiency.
Did you hear on the Today show this morning how long you have to own these hybrids to have the money come out of it....years and years....ofcause it is good if you need a new car to buy one of them, but to trade it in todays market makes no sense, because you will lose on your own car and that doesn't make up for the gas prices right now..
Depends.
1) On which hybrid you get. We found the hybrid Ford Escape, while it was very nice to finally have a 4WD hybrid, was NOT worth the exorbitant price tag. We paid close to $30K for ours, and the mileage was NOT that great, particularly in the cold weather (maybe 27-28 mpg). With the Prius, I get over 50 mpg in the spring/summer/fall, and 47-48 in the winter. I drive over 200 miles/week just for my commute. So compared to a 30 mpg car, if you drive 20,000 miles/year (which I do), you save $4,150/year (gas here is between $4.15 and $4.20 right now). Add to that the $3,150 tax CREDIT (a flat 'give back', not a deduction), it doesn't take long to make up the difference between the $22,000 price and whatever a comparable car would cost. I sure do love filling up for about $40, every 500 miles!
2) On how and where you drive. When we got our hybrids we found the feedback as to the mileage we were getting really helped us to change our habits. That is true for any car that has a readout of the current mileage and average over time, but I'd never owned a car with that feature before. Changing your driving style can help a lot even in a non-hybrid.
3) On what you would be buying instead (as you indicate). If it's a choice between buying a new car and sticking with an old one, the old one is almost always the more frugal choice (as long as it holds up). But many people don't want to be driving around in an old clunker, and if you're going to be buying new anyway, some of the most fuel-efficient hybrids probably ARE worth the price differential (at least if the tax credit is still in effect). Also, if you are trading in a guzzler, you will REALLY lose in today's market, because the resale market for those is so small right now.
And, driving a Prius is just a really FUN experience. It's like driving a video game (if you're into technology or gadgets at all). Try it and you'll see. It's a comfortable car, very solid, the stability control works wonderfully. I would not give up this car for anything! Just MHO.
I don't believe any new buyers of Prius' will get the tax credit. If I recall correctly, they've used up their allotment for that model.
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Motorcycles are out of the question but I am looking at the Mini Cooper Clubman (bigger than the original) (37 on the freeway!). Fun with a little get up and go. Most of my clients follow me around and in the event I have to bring a client with me, I can use our other car.
