My dad just bought home a 04 Prius....

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: mAdD INDIAN

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: Tiles2Tech

but kept the milage up. 60 miles in the city! Thats just nuts ... but damn everyone should go buy one now.

Sure, the mileage is quite impressive, but it's still one person driving around in *one* car -- which tends to clog up the roads. People need to rely more on public transportation.

As soon as public transportation runs on time (to the minute), come by the stop every 5 minutes so I don't have to get somewhere a half-hour early if I don't want to be late, drops me off at the door of my destination, doesn't necessitate my having to get packed in like a sardine next to a guy who hasn't showered aince 1973, and offers a realistic amount of storage space so that I don't have to pile everything in my lap I'll think about considering it.

Public transportation just plain sucks. So do cities in general, but that's another rant.

ZV

I rely on public transportation. If I didn't have that, I couldn't get to school and back.
And its usually on time and the trains come every 5 minutes (buses are another story though).

It is packed during rush hour though.

Only busses here. And they are terrible. Often 10 minutes late, occasionally 15 minutes or more. They generally only stop several blocks away from where I need to be, and I can't stand the crowding. If it wasn't free I'd have complaints registered every bloody day. There's no way I'd ever pay for transportation that bad. Plus you're constrained to the bus routes. It's just not a good option.

ZV

 

[phonemonkey]

Originally posted by: Tiles2Tech

but kept the milage up. 60 miles in the city! Thats just nuts ... but damn everyone should go buy one now.

Sure, the mileage is quite impressive, but it's still one person driving around in *one* car -- which tends to clog up the roads. People need to rely more on public transportation.

I'd love to rely up public transportation, but I live in a sprawling metropolis (Phoenix), and mass transit here *really* sucks. That, coupled with the fact that buses aren't running when I'm going to work (4am), means that I've gotta drive.

 

[Eug]

I'm gonna get one, likely within the next year, to replace my 2001 Prius.

 

[HJB417]

Originally posted by: Thegonagle

Originally posted by: Eli
. . . some energy is regained during braking, so not all of it comes from the ICE.

I suggest you do some research.

And where did the energy regained in from braking come from? From the kinetic energy of the moving mass of the automobile, that's where. The electric motor moves the car, using electricity stored in the battery. The electricity for the electric motor is primarily generated by by an IC engine, which burns gasoline. A clutch also directly connects the IC engine to the drivetrain at times, but that is not relevant to the point I make.

I know how it works.

I absolutely stand by original statement, that the 100% of the energy that makes the car go is derived from gasoline, which is burned in an internal combustion engine.

you know how what works? There are 2 diff hybrids technologies on the road and they both have similarities but perform differently. Maybe your statement is true w/ the prius, but for honda, the purpose of the electric engine is to assist in acceleration. The purpose of the battery is to recycle energy that would normally not be used at all. If used properly, it will make the driver an effecient one, instead of gas->gas->gas->break to slow down->break to slow down-> make turn or stop, I will do gas->gas->coast (the car will begin to recapture energy and stop using gas and you can brake if u wanna slow down faster) -> coast -> and if you coasted properly, you'll never even engage the real brakes. The car will also shutdown 3 of the 4 valves when coasting which means more gas saved. You can now u use this recaptured energy for acceleration at a later date. The gas engine is used to maintain speed. On the highway, I was getting 55~60mpg going @ 45ish mph. (It was pouring when I tried it so I had to drive a lil slow, and the speed limit was never higher than 50). I can get pretty good mpg driving in manhattan too (just as long as there is little or no traffic, morning driving is always horrible though). The car has this lean-burn feature but I have no clue how it works, i'm sure it's what got me 55~60mpg though =/
And for the prius, I don't know a lot about it, but I know it uses the electric engine only when under 35mph or something like that. This is great for stop and go traffic or traffic jams. The civic hybrid will perform like any other ICE under those circumstances. My mpg dropped to 40mpg under those conditions. I dunno how the prius performs on the highway but the civic hybrid will probably perform better.

 

[Eug]

And for the prius, I don't know a lot about it, but I know it uses the electric engine only when under 35mph or something like that.

Incorrect.

I dunno how the prius performs on the highway but the civic hybrid will probably perform better.

Also incorrect. The 2004 Prius is a much bigger car than the 2004 Honda Civic Hybrid, but the Prius gets better gas mileage. (The Prius is a mid-size, but the Civic is a compact.)

Prius: City-60, Highway-51
Civic: City-48, Highway-47

The Prius also has the bigger engine (1.5 L vs 1.3 L), and does the 0-60 faster.

 

[Siddhartha]

Originally posted by: Tiles2Tech

but kept the milage up. 60 miles in the city! Thats just nuts ... but damn everyone should go buy one now.

Sure, the mileage is quite impressive, but it's still one person driving around in *one* car -- which tends to clog up the roads. People need to rely more on public transportation.

Public transportation is not always flexible enough to meet people's needs.

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

Originally posted by: Dr Smooth

Originally posted by: Tiles2Tech

but kept the milage up. 60 miles in the city! Thats just nuts ... but damn everyone should go buy one now.

Sure, the mileage is quite impressive, but it's still one person driving around in *one* car -- which tends to clog up the roads. People need to rely more on public transportation.

Public transportation is not always flexible enough to meet people's needs.

well it depends on the City as well.

NYC and Toronto have awesome public transit, especially if you are travelling to the core of the city.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: mAdD INDIAN

Originally posted by: Dr Smooth

Originally posted by: Tiles2Tech

but kept the milage up. 60 miles in the city! Thats just nuts ... but damn everyone should go buy one now.

Sure, the mileage is quite impressive, but it's still one person driving around in *one* car -- which tends to clog up the roads. People need to rely more on public transportation.

Public transportation is not always flexible enough to meet people's needs.

well it depends on the City as well.

NYC and Toronto have awesome public transit, especially if you are travelling to the core of the city.

Same here in Portland, OR. You can almost literally go anywhere in the Portland Metro area, especially if it's downtown.

 

[RossMAN]

Portland, OR has a great mass transit system assuming the buses/light rail are on time

 

[HJB417]

Originally posted by: Eug

And for the prius, I don't know a lot about it, but I know it uses the electric engine only when under 35mph or something like that.

Incorrect.

I dunno how the prius performs on the highway but the civic hybrid will probably perform better.

Also incorrect. The 2004 Prius is a much bigger car than the 2004 Honda Civic Hybrid, but the Prius gets better gas mileage. (The Prius is a mid-size, but the Civic is a compact.)

Prius: City-60, Highway-51
Civic: City-48, Highway-47

The Prius also has the bigger engine (1.5 L vs 1.3 L), and does the 0-60 faster.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/hybrid_news.shtml

The manual transmission gets just as good rating as the prius. So I guess that makes us both incorrect.

42 MPH (68 km/h) is the fastest electric-only speed the system is capable of sustaining.

 

[thomsbrain]

we drove one a few weeks ago when looking for a new car. considering the technology, it was very impressive, but as an actual car, the camry, accord, and civic hybrid run circles around them. it's really slow and the controls feel like they're connected with... well, wires, oddly enough. give it 50% more power and make it ride like a camry, and i'm in. but until then, it's not a viable option for the masses.

 

[StageLeft]

It's a nice car, but I'd still rather drop a couple thousand and have a 350z or rx8. What the prius is is a driving computer, whereas the other two cars are...cars

 

[gwlam12]

i wanted one of those! but i ended up getting a solara instead.

 

[Eug]

Originally posted by: HJB417
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/hybrid_news.shtml

The manual transmission gets just as good rating as the prius. So I guess that makes us both incorrect.

Err... no, not even according to your own link. The Prius ties the Civic manual for highway mileage and easily beats it for city (and combined) mileage. The Civic automatic isn't even in the running.

42 MPH (68 km/h) is the fastest electric-only speed the system is capable of sustaining.

Yeah, but electric is used at all speeds.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: bubbadu
As far as looks go, sure its not the best looking from the outside, but they have definilty made it more attractive. The interior is sweet, and the 6 disc in dash changer is sweet. Oh btw heres a tiny hack that I shouldnt be telling anyone.

In order to get dvd's to play, you have to click the e-brake once in order to trick the car to think its stoped

Its now a hatcback, and has a lot more room inside, plus the back seats fold down which is cool. Sure it would be nice to have it in a different style body, but the technology is just amazing. I drive a car that was made in 1984, and this car just blew me away. Voice navigation is a must have

Are you just trying to sell cars? the e-brake trick is like so yesterday almost all it's features are just stolen from the aftermarket, and they do a better job.

 

[flot]

I just bought a Durango with the BIG engine. When I floor it, the overhead display actually reads "3 MPG".

I love this country.

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

Pruis has a DVD player?

 

[ViperMagic]

Originally posted by: flot
I just bought a Durango with the BIG engine. When I floor it, the overhead display actually reads "3 MPG".

I love this country.

When I'm (definatly not) abusing my father Corvette, the instant MPG reading goes to 1

 

[m2kewl]

Originally posted by: flot
I just bought a Durango with the BIG engine. When I floor it, the overhead display actually reads "3 MPG".

I love this country.

LOL

 

[Alternex]

I test drove one last week. The dealer said there's so much demand I'd have to wait till Feb '04 if I put an order for one now..

 

[Danman]

Hmmm........that is a quite interesting car.

 

[WinkOsmosis]

I think it looks nice. You people really have to understand that different types of cars will look different. A van looks like a van, a military truck looks like a military truck, a 60mpg car with .19 drag coefficient (or whatever) is going to look like a Prius.

 

[HJB417]

Originally posted by: WinkOsmosis
I think it looks nice. You people really have to understand that different types of cars will look different. A van looks like a van, a military truck looks like a military truck, a 60mpg car with .19 drag coefficient (or whatever) is going to look like a Prius.

does the interior have to look THAT different though?

 

[styelers]

i want me one

 

[Eug]

OK, I've decided. I'm getting me one, as soon as I can without getting killed on my current lease.

BlueTooth is not an option in Canada though.