Gas prices

[Feersty]

I just saw that neighbors has their regular unleaded gas at $1.75 a gallon :roll: . At what point does it have to get to, for any of you to maybe consider purchasing a hybrid. I know it goes against everything that we(MM dogs) buy cars for. My family is strongly considering a Hybrid Civic as a result of refinancing their mortgage. Comments appreciated.

[Mike]

It goes against everything we're about? :?:

I don't know about you, but I do care about my fuel economy. I think a Prius is a pretty cool damn car, I may test drive one.

$1.75 is nothing by the way, many metro area are already over $2 and in Europe their prices are always $3-$5. We (Americans) complain too much.

[.RJ]

Civic Hybrid is a great car, but you can buy a used car for half the price that gets almost as good mileage...... the economics of buying a new hybrid to save gas just dont make sense - save that for the liberal tree hugging sierra club hippies.

[G.Irish]

Well if you are dead set on buying a new car (like most people are) then a hybrid is not such a bad choice. Certainly there are several used cars that get great gas mileage but most of them are ten years old or older and they probably don't compare in features and crash safety which is something a lot of people care about. For my money a used hybrid could fit the bill fairly well.

Hybrid are not quite cheap enough to ultimately save money on gas over the regular all-gasoline model of the same car but that is not always going to be true. A lot of people buy hybrids just because they feel like they're doing a good thing for the environment and that is certainly as good a reason as any.

[BLINGMW]

yeah man, I think the Prius is hot! I can't speak for the Civic much, never driven one, and I like the way the Prius' drive system works better. I'd love to have one for my daily commute. I think it's damn close to my idea of a perfect daily driver. Go test drive one (and the Civic too), I think they're really neat. My dad and I took one out months ago when they were car shopping, flogged it in the mountains for about 2 hours (I had it floored most of the time up, and down you can put it in engine braking mode and get a lot of it back!), felt kind of bad about doubling the miles it had on it, :oops: brought it back, and I think we'd averaged something like high 40's for the trip. hock: It was a neat little car to drive. You can totally ignore the hybrid stuff that's going on, mom would never have to know, but for a techie, it's neat trying to figure out what the car's up to, and the center display is cool.

No, it doesn't handle or go like a sports car or anything, but it's enough to dice through traffic and have a little fun, and the brakes are great. The CV trans takes some getting used to, (mostly because it sounds like an clutch that's slipping REALLY bad) but does a really good job of keeping the car in its powerband when accelerating. No waiting for a kickdown, the trans just lets the engine rev higher as you press the gas further. You can see how tucked in the suspension is, with very short arms, and solid beam rear axle, AND a somewhat higher GC than most econoboxes-- it's kind of pathetic at the limit, but still fun and safe, despite its narrow ass tires.

RJ's right though, the gas savings AND the tax credit you get still don't pay for all the Hybrid technowonder, but it does work out to a few thousand a year in savings. Basically, if you're ok with the fact that you're paying 20k for a car that pretty much feels like a well built econobox that would maybe be worth 12k, go for it. Over a few years of ownership, you may have saved 6k depending on how much you drive, and so maybe it's more accurate to say you're paying 14k for a 12k car, which isn't so horrible. I hope to get one someday. :wink:

I'll be interested to see how long the cars last, I'm seeing used 1st gen ones pop up already....

[.RJ]

Certainly there are several used cars that get great gas mileage but most of them are ten years old or older and they probably don't compare in features and crash safety which is something a lot of people care about.

I was talking about a 2-3 year old used honda civic thats already taken the big depreciation hit....

[Evan]

Prius is pretty damn cool.
My Mom wants to get one, whenever her 86 Corolla finally kicks the bucket.


Here is an idea: Take a civic or CRX, and modify the engine to burn propane. You get the tax credit, HOV priveledges, and cheap fuel. without having to shell out for a brandy new car.
A guy I knew in my auto tech classes was in the process of doing this. Its surprisingly simple. And propane is something like 109 octane so b00st or high compression would be extremely tempting :-p

[Feersty]

I know it goes against everything that we(MM dogs) buy cars for.

I was referring to the raw performance numbers, which are anything but grand. When you are concerned with fuel economy, often times you have a small engine, and do not operate in high RPMs. It is hard to get the best fuel economy when you are shifting at 5000 RPM.

[Mike]

I don't regularly shift at 5000rpm, does anyone else?

The Prius puts out nearly 300lb/ft of torque by the way.

[Chris]

I don't regularly shift at 5000rpm, does anyone else?

The Prius puts out nearly 300lb/ft of torque by the way.

not regularly 5 grand, but the little engine that could does require a little extra effort...

[Maengelito]

$1.75 is nothing by the way, many metro area are already over $2 and in Europe their prices are always $3-$5. We (Americans) complain too much.

euro prices are like $3-$5 per liter, not gallon.


you could also consider something like a golf tdi. i'm not trying to endorse vw's, but those little turblow diesel buggers get like 50 mpg and have still have like 200 ft/lbs o' torque.

or there's always the motorcycle option. fast and good on gas. and death too!

[.RJ]

When you are concerned with fuel economy, often times you have a small engine, and do not operate in high RPMs. It is hard to get the best fuel economy when you are shifting at 5000 RPM.

A smaller engine is actually more efficient at higher rpms.... generally, exceptions apply, etc, etc.

you could also consider something like a golf tdi. i'm not trying to endorse vw's, but those little turblow diesel buggers get like 50 mpg and have still have like 200 ft/lbs o' torque.

My dad has one of those, its quite nice. I'd love to see the euro (diesel) accord i-CTDi here in the US.

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[Sijray21]

i acutally like the civic hybrid and the pirus. Plus you also get about a $2-3K tax shelter if you own one. Atleast that's what i remember from filing my taxes.

if you were on a budget though, i'd consider an older model civic hx. 40 some miles to the gallon and about $5K, not bad.

[Beej]

I don't regularly shift at 5000rpm, does anyone else?

The Prius puts out nearly 300lb/ft of torque by the way.

not regularly 5 grand, but the little engine that could does require a little extra effort...

True, true. I kinda hit 5k often. Gotta keep up with traffic, ya know?

I'll pay extra in gas to have a fun daily driver.

[Maengelito]

I'll pay extra in gas to have a fun daily driver.

amen

[.RJ]

amen

Extra Gas = 11 mpg?

I get that on track......

[BLINGMW]

True, true. I kinda hit 5k often. Gotta keep up with traffic, ya know?

haha, me too, me too. Our engine is just so weak. :lol: Gotta drop to 4th to get anything done on the highway, and I'm always winding out 2nd and 3rd just to get there. And I gotta keep about a 91 octane mix just to prevent low RPM pinging. I bet the prius would beat my car's quarter mile, seriously. :oops:

[Maengelito]

Extra Gas = 11 mpg?

I get that on track......

dont hate me cuz you aint me... besides, its atleast 15-16 mpg and sometimes close to 20, focker

[.RJ]

and sometimes close to 20, focker

On the highway... coasting in neutral... with a tailwind... drafting a Semi... getting bump-drafted

[Mike]

40mpg, high 14s in the 1/4, roll you all at an auto-x. don't hate.