Ten Things You Don't Know About Hybrids

This article is pure nonsense. Each point is substantiated with superficial evidence.

— kpaxx (View Profile)

Posted on 10/3/2007 11:33:40 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

10X BETTER COMMENT THAN HOUSTONCUTIE2000 WOULD HAVE WRITTEN........

— Shredmo (View Profile)

Posted on 10/3/2007 12:42:41 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Interesting article. One of the concerns that I have is about battery life. According to the article, the batteries are designed to last 80k to 100k, or up to 150k in California. But gas powered cars today can last 200k to 300k miles, without a major overhaul. So when a hybrid needs the batteries replaced at 150k, and it's not worth paying to fix a car that old, what happens then? Does the car end up in a junk yard causing junk yards to fill up faster? And will this give cars a shorter service life?

I'm all for better gas mileage, I think that we just need to keep an eye on the big picture to make sure it makes sense.

— daytonaviolet (View Profile)

Posted on 10/3/2007 1:33:31 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Batteries will be the death of hybrids. Take a $20,000 Prius for example. Assume the batteries live 10 years. Now you have a 10 year old Toyota that needs $8000 in new batteries. What do you think the resale value is on that car? Also dead batteries no doubt will be disposed of improperly causing an environmental nightmare.

Clean diesel is the future. Hybrids will not last more that a decade.

— CBR2200 (View Profile)

Posted on 10/3/2007 4:14:36 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

According to Consumer Reports (2007), the Toyota Highlander Hybrid is one of the most reliable midsize SUVS, along with the Lexus RX400h (hybrid). The Honda Civic Hybrid (small cars), Honda Accord Hybrid (Family car) and Toyota Prius also ranked at or near the top in their respective categories for reliability. Toyota's Prius hybrid was the most satisfying vehicle for the third year, with 92 percent of owners saying they would buy or lease one again. In last years survey, 95 percent of owners said they would buy or lease a Prius again.

— 1hybrid1 (View Profile)

Posted on 10/3/2007 10:04:01 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

Jesus.....

Im an electrical/computer engineer. I love the idea of hybrids, its cool. However, environmentally speaking, hybrids are rather disgusting. For example, the mine in Canada where the Prius' batteries are mined from (the raw materials that is) has a 5000 meter radius of death. No life grows there.

Hybrids also require LOTS more energy to produce, as well as tons of extra hardware and engineering. I love he idea of hybrids, dont get me wrong. Thing is, GM (and now BMW/Merc) have a system that isn't quite as fuel efficient, but is much more environmentally friendly to produce (BAS system).

Diesel + Variable valve timing + BAS = excellent fuel economy

— neutral (View Profile)

Posted on 10/3/2007 11:06:17 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

neutral,
Sudbury mining existed over 100 years ago, so they've been killing the planet long before Toyota existed.
New-age diesels can barely keep up to gas powered cars in emissions plug they require more oil for the same (or less) mileage that you in a hybrid.
Example: diesel gets 30% more mileage over gas, but uses up 30% more oil. Hybrids get 30% more mileage but use 30% less oil. You do the math.

Apparently Eureopeans see diesels as a luxury item (not for environmental benefits) , hence the other articles claim that only 30% of private sales are diesel (not the claimed 50+%). No wonder they're willing to use inferior technology to showcase their stature. Diesel is just a cheaper way to show off their bling.

— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 10/3/2007 11:26:54 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Come now huu76, where would the world be without Sudbury's nickel? Nickel is an important ingredient in many modern industrial alloys that make our civilization possible. I like diesels because of their high torque for mountain driving and long range between fill-ups on long road trips.

— EnnNorak (View Profile)

Posted on 10/4/2007 2:11:15 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1