LindenwoodJen's Blog

none of my cars are over the year 93 but i keep them alive with regular maintanance.

i love my 92 escort gt, 300,000 miles and i will take it anywhere....i have a clietn with a hybrid, she said she loves it.. its about the size of a sardine can, really, smaller then my escort

I wont drive anything that I don't feel safe in...... The Hybrids are too small...... Or maybe I'm too big....

There are as many negative aspects to the hybrids as positive. I don't believe they are the answer, but its a step in the right direction. Like all new products, there are bugs to work out. Hydrogen is the next step and a far better alternative. However the technoledgy is still in its development stage and there are not enough feul stations to supply this new technoledgy. Go to the BMW website as they have the most research and development for these vehicals.

93 ford festiva. 360 miles on a tank of gas cost 800.00 6 years ago...priceless

Jen, Hybrids aren't all their cracked up to be in terms of being green. The increase in mileage that you get is very dependent upon the type of driving you do and your driving style. But, the real negative side is that when those batteries wear out, they gotta be disposed of somewhere. Personally, I like my full size pickup truck because I can see over the top of most traffic.

Wildflower, GM does make a large hybrid, the Chevy Avalanche has a hybrid version. But, it's rated mileage is only 1 mpg better than the non hybrid model.

Vacuum-Cleaner,
what does the filter do?

We've got a Honda hybrid in the family and love it. Reliable and fabulous gas mileage. I do acknowledge the battery issue, however. It's a lot like green lightbulbs. Last forever, but have mercury in them. :p

Pick your poison, because there is no perfect solution at this point. Hoping that eventually, technology will give us BETTER solutions.

I will say that paying at the pump between my van and the hybrid is like night and day, though. The hybrid is shockingly cheaper to run.

It also is strange to drive at first. In a normal car, you idle at a stop light. In a hybrid, it actually STOPS, which means that there is no sound at all. It takes awhile to get over the feeling that you've stalled out. LOL

Btw, it has plenty of room for that size car. Nice trunk, too.

I can't believe how many people are misinformed about the Toyota Prius and Hybrids in general. I bought a 2007 Prius this past June and I could not be happier with it. My previous car was having some issues and with the Highway 40 reconstruction coming up, I figured I should improve my mpg because of the detour I would have to take.

I was about to get the new Altima, but at the last minute decided to test drive the Prius. Me in and wife loved it. The cost was exactly the same, but when I did some math on the gas I would be saving I figured out that I would be saving around $100 a month in gas for my 40 mile round trip commute to work. That made the Prius overall much cheaper to own than the Altima.

As for the battery, they are warrantied for 8yrs/100,000 miles and are nickel-metal hydride which has less environmental impact than the typical lead acid batteries in normal cars. Toyota has designed the battery to last the life of the car and offer this statement on their website: "Since the car went on sale in 2000, Toyota has not replaced a single battery for wear and tear."

It is actually kind of fun to drive, too. There are techniques of driving that you can do to even increase the mpg from the EPA estimates, it's called hypermiling or pulse and glide. I have been able to get 65 mpg round trip to work when I follow this. Even without it I still get about 53 mpg in the summer and 45 mpg in the winter. All cars run more efficient in warm weather.

I love the push-to-start button and the touch sensitive door handles that unlock the car when you touch them and hav

Apparently my post was too long because they cut off the end. Below is the rest of it. BTW, I don't know why it posted the first half twice. Sorry.

I love the push-to-start button and the touch sensitive door handles that unlock the car when you touch them and have the smart key in the vicinity. This system was much better designed than the Altima one I test drove. On the Altima you had to push a button on the outside of the car to unlock it.

Anyway, I didn't expect to write such a long post, but I really don't like it when people base their opinions on incorrect information. It then just gets reinforced and passed on. I would say to really know if you like it, you have to test drive one. That is what sold it for me. I'll leave you with one final clipping from Consumer Reports, "For the fourth straight year, the Toyota Prius hybrid is the top car for owner satisfaction. Ninety-two percent of Prius owners who responded to our survey said they would definitely buy or lease one again. The Prius is followed closely by the BMW 335i coupe/convertible and Porsche Boxster, which drew scores of 91 and 90, respectively."

You can definitely count me in as a satisfied owner. By the way if you want to read anymore about Hypermiling, you can find information here: hypermiling

You can also see some Hybrid products here:
Hybrid Lover Shop
http://www.cafepress.com/hybridlovershop