Total Motorcycle Community Forums

skinnyjoint wrote:i see your point if you were going to buy a new car and it was between either of the civics. yes i do believe ppl change cars every 6 if not more (i do it every 2 prolly)

not just the civics though, the ford espace hyrbid, the lexus hybrid, the chevy hybrids. . . all the same story. And even if your just trading in from maybe a f150 or something, still a better buy to get the normal car as it will be better mpg than said truck, and save ya more than a hyrbrid.



JWF

Not hybrid, but I went through all of this with my VW TDI Jetta. The car got an honest 47MPG average (best was about 53, I do most of my driving on the freeway, but I pushed the snot out of it on surface streets...jack rabbit starts with the tires chirping 'cause of the torquey (sp) engine) and I drove it about 180,000 miles before I gave it to my mother.

In real terms, factoring in maintenance, fuel costs, the premium charged for diesel cars, the car saved me about $1000 over that 180,000 miles/four years. That's comparing it to a car that gets 35MPG and assuming 100% depreciation (as it works out, the car is still worth a fair amount because TDIs are much sought after). A $250/yr savings is nothing to sneeze at, but neither is 180,000 miles either. By the time it is dead (250,000-300,000 miles) it will have saved more money (fuel prices are going up)... but then again how many people expect to drive a car even 150,000 miles?

The problem with the honda 7-yr warranty on the batteries is simple: who decides whether the battery is "dead"? NiMH batteries have very well understood properties... they can take about 1000 charge/deplete cycles before the capacity is cut in half. The exact numbers are researchable. What happens if the capacity is cut in half? Not much...the engine works harder and the fuel consumption goes down. So what they are saying is that in 7 years the batteries will not have shorted out or otherwise incapacitated the car... they aren't saying that the batteries will still help the car accellerate.

I've said it before... If I could get a decent european-style TDI, I'd buy it in an instant. A lupo is far nicer than an insight, and gets almost 90MPG...far better than the insight. And it is dirt simple... turbo charger, computer controlled direct injection diesel... can't get much nicer. I hear they make decent motorcycle engines.

Never forget the value of sticking it to the oil companies.

Right, they made 36 billion dollars last year, but you'll show them who's boss by giving them $20 less a month

Anybody here notice on newenough.com the little "side page" about them encouraging their employees to drive 40+MPG cars? Long story short they figure they are saving about 220ish (going by memory) gallons of fuel a month....

CNF2002 wrote:Right, they made 36 billion dollars last year, but you'll show them who's boss by giving them $20 less a month

If everyone gives them $20 less a month, those profits will shrink pretty dramatically.

In NJ you get a sizeable tax break for buying a hybrid which in many cases makes up for the extra cost. I don't know if its federal or state.

Since we're back on the subject of hybrid motorcycles, my girlfriend just sent me this link.

http://www.rvi.net/~mdhorban/hybridmotorcycle.htm

40 years ahead of its time. Gets 175mpg and its still working like a charm.
1965 Honda C200 Tourer.

flynrider wrote:

CNF2002 wrote:Right, they made 36 billion dollars last year, but you'll show them who's boss by giving them $20 less a month

If everyone gives them $20 less a month, those profits will shrink pretty dramatically.

Exactly.
One person won't make much of a difference, one drop in an ocean.
But if a bunch of drops start hitting then you can bet there will be a damn storm.