Comments on: It's Smart to Buy Hybrid Cars Even When Gas Prices are Low

By: KyleF

KyleF — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 17:43:24 +0000

I won’t bash those who buy them, unless they are just too proud of themselves…

But I also don’t like it when greeners try to bash me. They have to understand deeper facts before the simple ones typically used will influence me.

If the cost of ownership is the same (or comparable and coming down), like our nuclear scientist commenter, then I will wait until a 6 passenger version is released and I can buy one used. Then I can drive around my whole family.

And for people who want to boost CAFE standards, get a clue that the manufacturers game those standards. I own a crappy Honda minivan which is supposed to have great mileage, with the cool V6/3 engine, but actually gets much worse mileage than the Chevy Venture it replaced based on my family’s driving habits. Silly me for being an early adopter.

By: KyleF

KyleF — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 17:43:00 +0000

I won’t bash those who buy them, unless they are just too proud of themselves…

But I also don’t like it when greeners try to bash me. They have to understand deeper facts before the simple ones typically used will influence me.

By: KyleF

KyleF — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 17:43:00 +0000

I won’t bash those who buy them, unless they are just too proud of themselves…

But I also don’t like it when greeners try to bash me. They have to understand deeper facts before the simple ones typically used will influence me.

By: askepticat52

askepticat52 — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 01:09:54 +0000

Carbon credit trading is a good way for the politically well connected to make a fortune off a tax on the rest of us . we get poorer and they get rich.

Hybrids probably cost more energy to make than they can ever save.

“save the planet” is grandiose be thrifty instead. if you don’t buy a lot of stuff then less energy is wasted making junk. if you must drive a car , drive an inexpensive one with an economical gasoline engine .

By: NuclearPhysicist

NuclearPhysicist — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:44:15 +0000

I hate to break it to the hybrid haters, but their owners love them and don’t care if they cost a bit more up front. Besides that, most of you naysayers probably haven’t driven one or actually compared a Prius to something like the Fit by doing an actual test drive. They are not in the same class with respect to interior room and features. And, when they are comparably equipped, assessment of the five-years costs associated with these vehicles don’t show that much of a cost difference. Right now, the maintenance costs are a bit higher, but the gap is rapidly narrowing as more of them hit the road. In addition, the NiMH batteries have proven to be a non-problem. Testing has shown that most Prius batteries are likely to last the life of the vehicle. You don’t have to buy one, but you shouldn’t belittle their purchase by others by spewing unsubstantiated and opinion-based data.

By: NuclearPhysicist

NuclearPhysicist — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:44:00 +0000

By: AST

AST — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:09:44 +0000

In the long run everything is a limited resource. I’m all for developing alternative energy, but I think it’s silly to expect that we can switch over in a short time. America has enough oil that we could be selling it, but we’re really addicted to environmentalists dogmas more than to oil.

By: AST

AST — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:09:00 +0000

By: AST

AST — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:09:00 +0000

By: JB

JB — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:31:04 +0000

At this moment there’s zero reason to buy a hybrid. If there’s some major breakthrough, like EESTOR is everything it’s hyped to be, maybe my next car will be a full EV.

I’m starting to think the present day radical greening agenda is going to turn out as well as Stalin’s collectivization and Mao’s Great Leap Forward. Maybe kindler and gentler, instead of a body count it’ll only have an unemployment count. But it’s the same kind of mentality – what’s a few broken eggs when the omelet will be glorious?