A123 Prius Plugin

[t-maxxracer32]

both my parents own hybrids and i gotta say they are not what i thought they would be.

my dad has an 08 accord v6 and it gets MAYBE 22mpg in the city
my mom has an 08 civic 4 cyclinder and it gets on average 28mph in the city

they were each supposed to be 35mph in city and i beleieve 40-50 highway.

my parents paid over 75 thousand for the 2 cars and i honestly dont think the money was well spent.... they are not as gas efficient as i would have imagined.

[glassdoctor]

Originally Posted by t-maxxracer32

both my parents own hybrids and i gotta say they are not what i thought they would be.

my dad has an 08 accord v6 and it gets MAYBE 22mpg in the city
my mom has an 08 civic 4 cyclinder and it gets on average 28mph in the city

they were each supposed to be 35mph in city and i beleieve 40-50 highway.

my parents paid over 75 thousand for the 2 cars and i honestly dont think the money was well spent.... they are not as gas efficient as i would have imagined.

These cars are not rated for 35+ mpg city... unless they are hybrids...

2007 EPA estimates city/hwy for basic model, 5 speed (best #'s):
accord 23/31
civic 26/34

The EPA estimates have always been too generous (but now it's been changed in 08 to more realistic #'s) and most people drive too hard to get the best mpg also. You have to drive like your grandma if you want the best mileage.



my .02
My Durango w/hemi can get 20mpg cruising easy at 55-60 mph but it drops to about 17mpg at 80 mph. In town it's probably 14-16 as a grocery-getter, and worse if you want to hear the hemi work a bit. Oh... and it's 10-13mpg pulling a 21' ski boat.

[johnrobholmes]

I got a road bike to go back and forth to campus with. I hope I don't lose 20lbs though! I would be transparent!

[rootar]

do you guys not know about the voltswagon jetta desiel TDI ? we get 45 mpg in our 04. I personally drive a 97 ford F250 powerstroke, its the 7.3 we bumped up the fuel pressure via a programer 60psi, installed new injectors, upgraded turbo, a banks intercooler system, and a 4inch exhaust.... im AVERAGING 21mpg and 16 mpg pulling my 16' pace race trailer that weighs about 6,500 pounds......sounds like yall are driving the wrong kind of veichles if gas is so bad you have to resort to extreme measures, but then agian most of you dont live in rural arkansas and have to drive 45miles on the highway to get to a town with more than a couple thousand people too.....

Houston traffic involves a lot of sitting, a lot believe me. I want to at least be comfortable which was why I looked at this kind of car to start with. It was also listed as premimum recommended, not premium only. It will only run regular on the highway though. I have taken only one trip in it and it had barely 1000mi on it when I started, driving to Athens, Ga for my nephews greaduation (~1000mi) which turned into a family reunion. It got 26-28 on the highway and I felt like it working like it was supposed to (28 hiway rated).

But as soon as I got back home the mileage went away, I switched back to premium and a week later still with lousy mileage I took it to the dealer -ran a diagnostic and said there is nothing wrong - they tried to blame it on the gasoline sold in Houston, then they tried to tell me I wasn't driving the car far enough to get it up operating temp - I live 4.6miles from work.

I know of 3 of the same model cars at work burning the same gasoline I buy, but getting better mileage. Just for grins for a tank, I drove 15min away from work, turned around and then drove to work making the one way trip 16-18miles. Nothing changed, it gets an avg of 15mpg regardless and this is not brand either, I've tried Shell, Chevron, Sams, Citgo - makes no difference. I don't care what a diagnostic says, there is something wrong with this car - but try telling the service guy at the dealership that - they just look at you like you're stupid or something. I wrote Nissan USA months and months ago, but I didn't even rate a reply or a phone call.

I wish there was something I could do, but these are now ecu based and theres not much even a good mechanic can do without a diagnostic pointing you in the right direction. I'm not a dummy when I comes to cars, I did a ground up restoration on a 440 74 Ply GTX/Road Runner thats a show quaility car. I'm putting together a 71 Ply 360 Duster currently. I worked my way thru grad school for my masters in ME working as a Yamaha mechanic (factory trained) and I did a summer at a Chrysler Dealership as a mechanic before getting smart and moving to motorcycles - they're cleaner, you don't have to crawl under them and generally you don't get as greasy working on them. Paid just as much too.

I do know a guy that took a VW something and converted it to diesel and he makes his own biodiesel from restaurant cooking oil. He spends a lot of time doing that, but says his bio-d costs him about a buck a gallon. My buds Avalanche (sp?) gets better mileage than my Maxima, crap everybody gets better mileage than this sucker does, lol!! Donm't think I haven't tried doing something about it cause I have. I had to wait a yr to ease the financial hit on trading, but I'm looking currently and will be in different wheels end of the month. Wish me better luck!

[kulangflow]

I work from home.

I need to fill my 91 Accord's tank every six weeks or so because it averages 30+ mpg.

Sorry, I just thought I'd rub it in. Muwahahahahahaha!

[DrKnow65]

My work truck got 6-8mpg, put around 23K miles on it last yar and spent ~$8,400 (with time idling). I don't feel bad for any of you hahaha.

Oh yah, and while we're mentioning diesels, I don't care what kind of milage you get, THAT CRAP SMELLS BAD!!! anyone who owns a diesel should have part of their own exhaust pipe routed into the cab so they can share the pleasure with the rest of us.

[Serum]

My company car diesel does a 50 mpg. (for the last 4000 miles that is) I think that would beat a prius? (real numbers, no theory)

we pay roughly 10 bucks per gallon now..

[BrianG]

Ugg, $10/gal! I thought it was high here at $3.33/gal (as of last Sunday morning)...

Being in Iowa, Ethanol mix gas at 89 octane is either the same price or less than "regular" 87 octane. If I happen to be shopping at Wal-Mart, I get the gift card, which entitles you to $0.03/gal discount at their gas pumps (Murphy's USA). Not a whole lot, but every bit counts I guess...

You guys have alternatives - mass transit. What passes for mass transit here is a joke and no real alternative. I'm glad I'm only 4.6mi from work, that gives me some choices.

[lincpimp]

Gas prices suck. I am currently running my 2000 kawasaki zx12r as my commuter. Exactly 1.5 miles from my house to my shop, but I still save at least 10 bucks a week over driving the f150 lightning (gets about 15mpg in the city, not on boost!). I have a golf cart that needs work, and I may use that to get to work! Not brushless, but it is electric! Only issue is that it needs the esc and 6, 6v batteries at 70 bucks each.

[Serum]

mass transit here is the biggest joke you know. that's hardly an alternative. If i used that during the day, i would need at least 8 hours a day extra to cover the time it takes. It might be handy for connecting large city's, but other than that, it's useless, and far from perfect. The best mass transit system i know off is in Manhattan. The subways.. that's perfect.


I guess they tought you that at school, the same place they told you we all have wooden shoes and eat cheese.. :)

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by Serum

...I guess they tought you that at school, the same place they told you we all have wooden shoes and eat cheese.. :)

You don't???

No just bad info - my wife works in research (Shell) and has a fair amt of contact with folks from over there, guess I've been making wrong conclusion about comments I've been hearing (at various dinners and lunches), must not be picking up their sarcasm or something.

When I worked in NY, Albany area, I met people who had never owned a car. That was hard to comprehend.

[Serum]

Nope, that's a hoax! the ant-eater costume on the other hand...