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Thread: Hybrid cars...anybody got one?

  1. #226
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    My hubby and I are going to talk to a dealership today to trade in my Rav4 for the prius V. Went and looked at one last night, and I can definitely fit my horse in the back seat. I'm hoping the numbers work out. Living in Connecticut, gas is outrageous, so if I can save a couple hundred a month that would be great. As it is right now, I have to fill up every 4 days, so if I could drop that to once a week, I'd be uber happy.

  2. #227
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    Quote Originally Posted by fjpod View Post
    Toyota just released a wagon/crossover version of the Prius called the Prius V. It's not huge, but its worth a look. I think it gets about 45 mpg, highway or city.
    So I test drove a Prius V yesterday. It was suprisingly not as small as I would have thought. Plenty of room for my doggie and kids. Lots of cool bells and whistles that are completely unnecessary but make the car cool. I'm waiting to hear on the financing to see if we are going to get it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by optilady1 View Post
    My hubby and I are going to talk to a dealership today to trade in my Rav4 for the prius V. Went and looked at one last night, and I can definitely fit my horse in the back seat. I'm hoping the numbers work out. Living in Connecticut, gas is outrageous, so if I can save a couple hundred a month that would be great. As it is right now, I have to fill up every 4 days, so if I could drop that to once a week, I'd be uber happy.
    Using that much gas, you'll save.

  4. #229
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    Well, I did an unusual thing...I went and bought something I really didn't need. A fully electric car, the new Mitsubishi-i. To me, for local transportation, it makes sense...

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    Proud new owner of a Prius V!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Can't wait to pick it up!!!!!!!


  6. #231
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    wow. best of luck. you're gonna love it. you might want to visit priuschat.com

  7. #232
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    They need to bring the 1998 CRX HF back, 53MPG on gas.

    Congrats on the new toys.

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    Ok, so last post about my new car. I've of course only had it for about 12 hours, so I have no clue as to how it will affect my life as far as gas mileage goes. I will say that the package I got with the navigation is totally cool, but can be found on any toyota with similar package options. It drives really nicely, although it's going to take awhile to adjust to the front end feeling narrower than the back. My kids fit in nicely, and we'll be stuffing the dog in next weekend for camping, so i'm hoping for a happy dog. Overall, I'm super happy, and somehow the financing gods got my payments lower than my old car, even though I had only had the old one for a year.

  9. #234
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    While most of us have probably never attended a hybrid car race, the events are not unusual. The annual Formula Hybrid International Competition is occurring now in the Brand new Hampshire town of Loudon. The race is set apart by the truth that all the cars were studied-designed and built, and the judges are employers from main car manufacturers, trying to find brand new talent. Learn how to buy car that works for you.

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    Have seen an add for a hybrid resently that said it got up to 100 mpe. What is mpe?
    Also have seen a couple of hybrid adds that show higher mileage for city than highway? I suppose this means it can be charged for "free" in city. Anyone calculated what charging these things cost in electricity? And no I won't get into the amount of fossil fuel required to generate the electricity.

    Chip

  11. #236
    Objection! OptiBoard Gold Supporter shanbaum's Avatar
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    MPE = "miles per gallon equivalent". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_p...ine_equivalent . You see higher MPEs in city driving for hybrids because they have a more significant efficiency advantage over internal combustion engines in stop-and-go operations than they have in continuous motion; it has nothing to do with "charging for free."

    Power plants are more efficient in producing electricity than ICEs are in producing motive force.

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    My Mitsubishi-i gets an mpge of 126 miles in the city. 112 on the highway. Plug it in every night like a cell phone. Lovin' it.

  13. #238
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    Quote Originally Posted by chip anderson View Post
    Have seen an add for a hybrid resently that said it got up to 100 mpe. What is mpe?
    Also have seen a couple of hybrid adds that show higher mileage for city than highway? I suppose this means it can be charged for "free" in city. Anyone calculated what charging these things cost in electricity? And no I won't get into the amount of fossil fuel required to generate the electricity.

    Chip
    You were likely looking at a Plug in Prius, or a Volt. Free charging is going to disappear...except for maybe high-end businesses that want to give it to customers as an incentive to use their goods and services. Like, "charge-up while you get your eyes examined." In my neck of the woods, with electricity costing about 25 cents per Kwh, with all taxes included, it is equivalent to gasoline at about $4.50 per gallon, if your "old" car was getting 50 mpg. Now, no one gets 50 mpg average unless you are driving a Prius, so in real terms, if you normally drove a car that averages 25 mpg, driving an electric car saves you at least 50% and as much as 80% on your direct fuel costs.

    The most inefficient coal burning power plant is more efficient, and cleaner, than thousands ICEs burning gasoline.

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    Quote Originally Posted by fjpod View Post
    The most inefficient coal burning power plant is more efficient, and cleaner, than thousands ICEs burning gasoline.
    Maybe true, but then why the push to shut down all the coal mines in Ky, WV, and VA?
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    Quote Originally Posted by Johns View Post
    Maybe true, but then why the push to shut down all the coal mines in Ky, WV, and VA?
    Oh...and Ohio also:

    ...Says that President Obama said in 2008 that his proposed greenhouse gas regulations "will bankrupt" anyone who wants to build a new coal-fired power

    http://www.politifact.com/ohio/state...d-bankrupt-co/

    (I believe this is a non-partisan site. Kind of like a political SNOPES )
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  16. #241
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    Quote Originally Posted by Johns View Post
    Maybe true, but then why the push to shut down all the coal mines in Ky, WV, and VA?
    Oh, I dunno. Nobody wants coal burning in their neighborhood. Maybe because natural gas is perceived to be so abundant today and burns cleanly. And natural gas power plants are popping up everywhere. In my area, they built two of them that are so small, yet produce a lot of power. They fit on less than an acre and when they are turned on, you would never know they are running. But even they are only used during peak power demands. The majority of our power comes from long distances. The coal fired power plant closed over 20 years ago. (I think Reagan was president then).

    Coal is labor intensive to get out or the ground and get it to market. No matter how you try to clean it up, it's still dirty. I suppose it's ok as a back-up source of energy, but I doubt it will ever earn back it's position of prominence.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Johns View Post
    Oh...and Ohio also:

    ...Says that President Obama said in 2008 that his proposed greenhouse gas regulations "will bankrupt" anyone who wants to build a new coal-fired power



    http://www.politifact.com/ohio/state...d-bankrupt-co/

    (I believe this is a non-partisan site. Kind of like a political SNOPES )
    From the article-


    Obama made clear in the interview that he was not suggesting an end to coal use. Too much of the country already uses it in existing power plants and factories. In a portion of the interview his critics failed to note, he said:

    "This notion of no coal, I think, is an illusion, because the fact of the matter is that right now, we are getting a lot of our energy from coal, and China is building a coal-fired plant once a week. So what we have to do then is we have to figure out how can we use coal without emitting greenhouse gases and carbon. And how can we sequester that carbon and capture it? If we can't, then we're going to still be working on alternatives."

    But Obama also made clear that he wanted to transition away from building new coal-fired plants, saying that the price on emissions for building one -- using old technology -- would be prohibitive under his plan.

  18. #243
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    Quote Originally Posted by fjpod View Post
    My Mitsubishi-i gets an mpge of 126 miles in the city. 112 on the highway. Plug it in every night like a cell phone. Lovin' it.
    Wow! What's your commute? I've been spending $36.00 every 7 days on gas. I'm super happy. And I drive approximately 400 miles/week for work. Previously spending $87.50 every 7 days.

  19. #244
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    Quote Originally Posted by optilady1 View Post
    Wow! What's your commute? I've been spending $36.00 every 7 days on gas. I'm super happy. And I drive approximately 400 miles/week for work. Previously spending $87.50 every 7 days.
    You're gonna hate me. My office is about 1.5 miles from my house. I travel more per week to go visit my dad who is 88 years old.

    Sounds like your Prius V is working out. I love mine. Greatest thing since sliced bread.

  20. #245
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    Quote Originally Posted by fjpod View Post
    You're gonna hate me. My office is about 1.5 miles from my house. I travel more per week to go visit my dad who is 88 years old.

    Sounds like your Prius V is working out. I love mine. Greatest thing since sliced bread.
    Yup. Kinda hate your commute. More like sheer jealousy. That's pretty cool though that you are able to work so close to home. I wish I had that option. Some day.

  21. #246
    Master OptiBoarder rbaker's Avatar
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    An interesting article may be found on pages R1 and R2 in the Monday, June 18th 2012 issue of the Wall Street Journal. I do believe that natural gas will be a major energy source in transportation in the future far outstripping the electric vehicle due to the much higher energy density of hydrocarbons over batteries.

  22. #247
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    "In the five years from 2004 to 2008, U.S. oil consumption averaged 20.46 million barrels per day (mbd). In 2008, total transportation was responsible for sixty-nine percent of oil consumption, with light-duty vehicles (LDVs) representing 8.6 mbd of that demand. The transportation sector as a whole is today ninety-five percent reliant on petroleum products for delivered energy— with no substitutes available at scale. This extraordinary reliance on a single fuel to power an indispensable sector of our economy has exposed the United States to a significant vulnerability, both for our economy and for our national security."

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  23. #248
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    Quote Originally Posted by rbaker View Post
    An interesting article may be found on pages R1 and R2 in the Monday, June 18th 2012 issue of the Wall Street Journal. I do believe that natural gas will be a major energy source in transportation in the future far outstripping the electric vehicle due to the much higher energy density of hydrocarbons over batteries.
    Maybe...but suppose you lived in an area where your water supply was exposed to contamination from hydrofracking? Everything has it's Achilles heal. Yes, I admit batteries have one also. But I sure do like the idea of importing less foreign oil.

    Natural gas requires huge tanks in the vehicle and you would still only get maybe 1/2 to 2/3 the range of gasoline. Refueling at home is not so practical considering that folks would have to install expensive high pressure fueling systems. To get that much natural gas to market for transportation, we would have to rely on LNG...and you know how controversial that technology is. In fact, in my home community, years ago they were building a LNG tank, and a welder caused an explosion which caused the roof to collapse and over 40 workers were killed. Never heard about LNG again.

    Today, right now, I am charging my EV with 110 volts from a regular plug in my garage...like a cell phone at night. I get about an 85 mile range from a charge. I normally drive 15-20 miles per day. I'm happy.

  24. #249
    Master OptiBoarder rinselberg's Avatar
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    Natural gas for some specialized fleet vehicle applications--but not for general purpose passenger cars and trucks.

    That''s what I get out of this recent page-long summary from Exxon-Mobil:

    http://www.exxonmobilperspectives.co...utm_medium=cpc

  25. #250
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    Recent trends...
    ...gasoline consumption is down in the US about 9%. You'd never know it from the price. I suppose they have to raise the price to make up for lost volume.
    ...virtually every automaker is offering a hybrid or two. There are several hybrid plug-ins and EVs selling now.
    ...there is a literal glut of natural gas in the US, which among other things is killing the use of coal (has its good and bad points). It should be lowering the cost of electricity, but not where I live. One good trend from this is that companies that produce products heavily dependent on burning gas, such as in the production of fertilizer, are considering moving their plants to the US. Imagine,...even with higher labor costs, it's cheaper to do business in the US. Whoda thunkit.
    ...the US is now a net exporter of finished petroleum products other than gasoline.
    ...cheap gas is killing the development of alternative sources like, wind, wave and solar.
    ...cheap gas is also killing the drilling industry.

    Maybe the best energy policy is No policy. Everything seems to be determined by supply and demand. I kinda like the idea though, of companies moving their factories here because of cheap natural gas...

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