Hybrids. Good or bad?

[browniehound]

They are permeating the state of Massachusetts, yet they may be doing more harm than good. I know their owners think they are above us all in protecting the environment. I disagree!

Its like the Toyota Prius. Very popular here in MA because of its great gas mileage. The owners are thinking "I'm saving the planet by driving a Prius". The problem is, the carbon "footprint" to produce the car is much greater the one to produce a regular Toyota "Corolla" which is no "slouch" on gas mileage itself.

Then there is the question of saving money on gas. Does it happen? I understand the Prius gets about 44-47 MPG. The "Corolla" gets around 35-37 MPG I think. The Prius, however costs 5-7 thousand more (probably more) than the Corolla.

So my conclusion from investigating the hybrid is its not helping the environment or the consumer. The disposal of the battery will hurt its "greeness" and unless you drive "a helova lot" you will not make up for the premium price of the Prius in its greater MPG.

Only in Massachusetts though, would these vehicles be so prevelent!

Why does everyone else think?

[UpstateNYUPSer]

We have them up here and I actually test drove one. Your MPG is a little on the low side, especially highway. The Prius website does say 46-48 combined but I have heard of closer to 60. The new one is supposed to have a solar panel built in to the roof to power the A/C. The model that I test drove was one of their more expensive ones ($28,000) but it was nice. It was also cool to see my MPG updated and displayed on the dash.

I am actually waiting for the Chevrolet Volt to come out in 2010. It is supposed to be electric with a 40 mile range on a single charge. It does have the option to use gas. However, the $30,000 projected sticker may keep me away, for now.

Improvement in technology, as in all other industries, will bring the prices down. For example, I bought my first VCR for $600. Now they are giving them away.

[moreluck]

The ad on TV now for Ford Focus says they are just a good on the environment as Prius & others only lots less $$.

My daughter drives a 4-door Focus and she loves it.

[soberups]

I have a 2006 VW Jetta TDI turbodiesel that gets me about 40 MPG on the highway and 34-36 around town. For about 8 months out of the year, I run 100% biodiesel made locally from recycled cooking oil and domestically grown soybeans. During the colder months pure biodiesel can gel, so I run B20 which is a blend of 20% biodiesel and 80% petroleum diesel. I like my car better than a hybrid, because I will never have to worry about replacing an expensive battery pack or dealing with complex electrical problems. I personally have my doubts about how well the hybrids will hold up once they get older and get a lot of miles on them; diesel engines on the other hand typically last over twice as long as gasoline engines before requiring an overhaul.

[rod]

All I know about them is you don't want to be the owner when the batteries go TU. My neighbor said they quoted him a price like $10,000 for new ones when his Honda hybred puked. Fortunately the local dealer got it covered under warantee because he was just over the cut off limit for miles. Must of had something to do with the lawsuit Honda lost because their odometers weren't accurate for a few years. They would register more miles that they actually had.

[scratch]

I think the price needs to come down on these things if you want to really save money. I test drove a 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid last Fall. It cost about $6000 more than the gas V6 we wound up buying and the mpg was 28 verses 26 for the gas version. I liked the way it drove, but what killed the deal was my insurance would have gone up $70 a month and the Dealer was charging full list price because of the big demand. I figured I wasn't going to save any money driving one.

[MrFedEx]

There's a great article in the latest Car&Driver by Patrick Bedard. He essentially says that the lower-priced hybrids that get outstanding mileage actually make sense because you can recoup the much-higher initial cost over just a few years. The high-end hybrids sound like a good idea, but you'll never get your money back. As someone else mentioned, however, what are the environmental costs of manufacturing and disposal of high-tech batteries?

For now, I wish that more of the high-mileage diesels from Europe could be legalized and imported. An Indian manufacturer is already planning to introduce a diesel-powered small truck next year that gets well over 30 mpg.