I Hate Hybrids

hear hear!!!

I could argue everyone of your points but it would serve no purpose other then to waste my time.

I'll just say go have a beer (or a smoke or whatever) and mellow out.

Amen!

Escalade 15 -> 20 = save $1029 (250 gallons)
Matrix (Prius) 27 -> 46 = $943 (229 gallons)
Highlander 19 -> 26 = save $869 (211 gallons)
Lexus RX 19 -> 25 = save $820 (199 gallons)
Tahoe 16 -> 20 = $770 (187 gallons)

But I agree with his rant, we should all quit our polluting jobs, live on the grasslands, hunt wild dogs, cats and birds for food, and be green!
Let our public excretions help the plants grow!
No more worrying about keeping a job in this rigid society!*

*manufacturing plants of products for decreasing excretion odor excluded from shut down.

I guess Edmunds wants to go the polemical, shocking, masturbatory writing route now.

"anything worth having is expensive. A good car. A good house. A hot wife. PlayStation. HDTV. Table service. You pay for what you get in this world and if you want to live a good life, it costs money. Enjoy driving. Pay for the gas. It's worth it... Cut something else from your life if you have to."

Am I wrong, or didn't we have a ton of people paying what an overpriced house was worth because of this same logic, and now the economy sucks because they all foreclosed. And why did they do it, because of this same logic. Now everyone has lost money in the housing market, and many of them can't even get a loan on a pack of cheetos let alone a loan on a car they want. Hell, even people with solid credit can't get the car they want.

And most hybrids are expensive to begin with since most are not small cars. Almost half the models of hybrids sold today start at over $30,000, and the number is increasing with Chrysler/Dodge introducing Durango hybrid's as well as BMW introducing one or two new ones very soon. Most hybrids under 30K are either close to 30K, or are clones of the same model or are the same model different year.

He shouldn't hate hybrids because they're economical. He should love them because they're more expensive than economy cars, and more expensive than most cars to begin with.

But, if he read paid any attention to the news on Insideline (the very site he's complaining on), he would know this instead of talking out his tailpipe.

Nothing in this article made any sense.

Dumbfounding, conceited vitriol.

Has his hate completely blinded him that what some people want is better fuel mileage?

People are always going to be buying new cars...whether it's because their old one is getting old or because they just want something else. So therefore I think it's right that car makers are trying to build vehicles that use less fuel. Gas sipping technologies and driving fun are not mutually exclusive, and I think we'll start seeing proof of that in the near future. The Prius is boring because it's a Toyota, not because it saves gas.

On a related note: I'm pretty disappointed to see IL running such an article (on the front page no less!). I've always liked to think of the Edmunds editors as fairly unbiased and its readers fairly intelligent (Ever been to the MotorTrend forums? Wow.). I know the folks here like cars, and I'm no fan of the Prius but this is a pretty poor showing none the less.

Amen +1

I'll drive what I want... Al Gore and his Marxist friends can drive what they want (which isn't what they want the rest of us to drive).

Stage 1: Denial.

.................

Great piece of automotive journalism.

.................

Did I accidentally click on a Car & Driver link?

.................

Alright, got my daily does of hate!

.................

IL, you are so close to losing my readership.

nf

No everyone is a car fanatic. Believe it or not some people buy a car that is practical and gets them from point A to point B - and why not save some gas and have zero emissions as well? I don't think we all need to be driving around in HUMMERS and BMWs. Now that would be boring.

If you're not a car fanatic, you shouldn't be reading IL. I love this story because it got everybody's panties in a bunch.

What I love about hybrid owners is that 1) they pay for their gas 5 years in advance and 2) buy a quirky looking car for a statement. They are the equivalent of the person with a Starbucks cup in their hand not because of the coffee but because of what it says about them - I belong to this group.

I drive a Scion (Toyota for those of you who accidently found themselves here) and cut my consumption by 40% by telecommuting more, making more phone calls instead of driving, and driving slower on the freeway.

It's about living a minimalist lifestyle. Yeah, don't agree about the big house, hot wife, etc but I know what The Mechanic is getting at. I plan on purchasing a V8 in the next couple of years and I will thoroughly enjoy hearing my exhaust resonate over every hybrid. But I will also be driving even less miles and keeping my Scion as my daily driver.

If everyone bought less junk (ie clothes, TVs, and other non-essentials) we'd burn less oil by consuming less plastic and have less boat trips from China to the US delivering us all that garbage.

What I love about our country is that we are either 'on' or 'off'. We never find any middle ground. All or nothing. Europe's been like this for decades and we're telling them how to be more efficient. Give me a break!

Chill out, guys. This is simply a love letter to the death of driving passion.

I know the feeling; my heart ached as I traded in my 2006 Mustang GT for a Ford Focus, mainly due to guilt from insane gas prices. Though it'll be paid off in time to get a new Camaro SS, where it'll stay in the garage during the week as I drive my Focus to work.

The reality: dramatic cars are being relegated to toys of luxury. Sad, but true. The same thing happened to muscle cars in the 1970's, but we turned it around. Give it ten or twenty years, and you'll be getting a hybrid or electric Mustang with 500lb feet of torque to whet your performance appetite.

"I love this story because it got everybody's panties in a bunch."

+1 dieseltc.

Sometimes its good for this site to give everyone a sharp dig in the ribs just for the hell of it. You can't deny it provoked a response. Keep it up, guys.

"What I love about hybrid owners is that 1) they pay for their gas 5 years in advance and 2) buy a quirky looking car for a statement. They are the equivalent of the person with a Starbucks cup in their hand not because of the coffee but because of what it says about them - I belong to this group."

Don't forget, not everyone who drives a hybrid does so to decrease their fuel costs. We bought one to decrease our carbon footprint and drive a cleaner burning vehicle.

Also, it USED to be 5 years to re-pay the premium cost of a hybrid motor. Back when gas was $2.50 a gallon. Now, it's more like 3 years, and with the tax savings (ours was a $3000 write-off), that gap closes even further.

And the more gas prices rise -- which they most certainly will -- the faster we'll recoup those costs.

Don't feed the Trolls !

PlayStation is not expensive. Get a PS and Gran Turismo and you can drive all kinds of cars --even a Prius-- for a few hundred bucks, no insurance, gas, etc.

This is why hybrids suck and diesels rock!

diesels are fun to drive!

Damn!!! This is harsh. Not everyone craves a certain vehicle. For those there is the Prius and the like. So what? The fact is that we do need more hybrids! We need to use less fuel!!

Not every hybrid needs to be like the Prius, though. I'd love for my Armada to eek out a few more miles per tank. Make it available at a reasonable premium over a non-hybrid model and I'm all in. The point is to use the technology that we have and make the cars we drive more efficient. To that end hybrids make sense. I'm not saying that a Mustang GT should be able to sneak up on you in a parking lot silently. That would seem creepy.

Of all the technologies that are being considered, hybrids are currently the most viable in the big scheme of things.

Thank you Mechanic!

I wish you would have touched on the toxic materials produced in the manufacture and disposal of the batteries too...I wish people would consider that as well. And then there's the extra weight. I often wonder what the real world mileage of a Prius would be fitted with a clean diesel, or a 3cyl turbo. I'd bet it would be better than with the hybrid. Oh, and the cost of repairs after warranty, which at this point will only be available at the stealerships...I could go on, but it would be lost on the ecoweenies anyway. Like Mechanic said, if you are truly "green" you'd either keep your car or buy a used one, anyway.

Clearly Mechanic is an a$$! your entire rant made no sense at all.

you sounds like a drunk trying to make an intelligent speech,a full page of nothing!

I dont care if you live a flavorless life where the thrills come from buying a car full of batteries and trying beat your personal best of 49 MPG. Just stay out of the left lane!! You are causing traffic. Help me out, traffic is bad for the environment, right? Its the "symptom of a larger problem" thing. People decide what they do is best.....and best for everyone else. I love my cars, I put months of reading sites like this to find something new and fun.....to DRIVE. I dont care if they cost 15k or 150k, fun to drive is fun to drive. Hybrids, not fun to drive. If I want 45 MPG, I'll buy a Fit and throw on some coilovers and exhaust, with the money I save not buying batteries. Those things make it fun, something most hybrid drivers would just never understand.

Anyone curious who "The Mechanic" is? Like Karl in disguise or something?

Ah another hater mail. Gosh I guess he really pissed with the gas price but cant buy one that is why he ended up hating it. Just wait few more years and they are everywhere and more affordable same like DVDs, Ipods, once they mass produce it price will go down and they will have more variation aka sport models.

This actually is very very good. It's the middle of summer and nothing is happening. Let's get the vacationers online and typing.

The pov feeds right into the sweet spot of the haters and doubters. It also does a good job of setting the hair on fire of all hybrid proponents. Nicely done.

All you have to do is bring back the TDI vs Hybrid thread and and let'em at each other. Renew the Great Battery Debate thread too.

I actually do see you're personal pov glimmering through. Who needs all those factories and assembly plants making stuff for the auto industry anyway. Economy schmomeny, let's shut'em down and get back to real transportation....foot power. When I was a kid I walked or rode my bike 15 miles to school.

This article was pretty stupid because it was just a rant....no maturity to it, heck, the name of it is called "i hate hybrids," like a whiny child.

That being said, I'm not fan of the prius (and some other hybrids) because of what the author pointed out. It has 0 fun factor...another poster above mentioned that "the prius is boring not because it's a hybrids, but because it's a toyota"....and i agree with this sentiment also....but if toyotas are boring in general, the prius is that much more of a snorefest. There should probably be a warning sticker on the steering wheel "driving this car may cause zzz's"

Also, I have a pretentious friend who hounds me about the car that i want (2008 mustang gt) and brags about his cars mpg (honda fit) because the mustang gets worse mileage.....You know that old saying that guys buy flashy cars, and big trucks to compensate for something....well the new craze of bragging about how much mileage your car gets is the new way to compensate for something, at least in some circles....it's disgusting.

I do hate the attitude that a lot of people nowadays have of "cars are just to get from point A to point B.....Cars do that, but you're meant to have fun with your car too, and, as the article stated, you should "desire" your car when you're inside and out of it. It's a beautiful relationship between you are your car, it's not just a means to an end.

Now, in terms of the environmental impact.....the truth is that the only significant environmental impact that hybrids will have is that it's contributing to the idea of cleaning our planet, the more people hear the term hybrids and associate it environmentalism and the more that becomes "cool" the more the people in power, who actually can effect energy policy and carbon output will be pressured to do something

Sorry to burst the naive peoples bubble but the theory that "if EVERYONE bought a hybrid then we would solve our climate crisis" is childish and annoying to hear...not EVERYONE is going to want or buy a hybrid, get over it....what we need to concentrate on to preserve our environment is a) voting the right people into office and b) generally being more involved in government as citizens of the U.S. and citizens of the world......once the right politicians are in office they can actually effect carbon emissions.

Also, hybrids are ridiculous for another reason, they are NOT zero-emission....people seem to forget that Hybrids still use gas, and over its lifetime it will use a lot of gas and still pump a lot of carbon into the air......i'll buy an environmentally friendly car when it is actually environmentally friendly, meaning ZERO-EMISSIONS.....a car like the Honda Clarity is something i would consider for a commuter car.....and we need to start investing in hydrogen fuel and putting up hydrogen fuel pumps all over the u.s.

Also, STOP flying........did you know that on average the amount of gas that an airliner uses in one hour is equal to the amount that your car will use in 27 years.....so instead of us all buying hybrids, why don't we just all stop flying.....plane emissions are much more harmful to the environment

Anyway, this hybrid craze is fueled by this new idea of "green is cool"....like i stated above, people compare and brag about how much mileage their cars get nowadays which is more ridiculous than comparing horsepower or torque or liters......Very few things piss me off more than people who want to be green to be cool, basically people just following the new trend......why not be environmentally conscious just for the sake of being environmentally conscious.....5 years ago when i would recycle cans and bottles, cut the plastic that holds together a 6-pack of coke, set my air conditioner to the recommended "energy saver" ammount...78 degrees btw, turn off lights i wasn't using, getting really excited about green technologies (cheaper solar, wind, water, hydrogen) etc etc....i was laughed at...but now, since it's "cool" to "be green" now everyone is on board.....but in reality, a lot of these people just do it to brag about how green they are....it's sad, pathetic, and i want no part of THAT

so i will buy my mustang gt, but i will also vote the right people into office so that we can heal our planet. thank you.

BTW, to those that think this is serious.... get a sense of humor. To those that say 'Right On'...pwned

Actually I'm going to try to get this symbol made into a sticker a la 'Ghostbusters'. It's a very cool logo.

Interesting point, I am not saying that I agree with it, but it is refreshing to hear someone say something other than mindless praise for hybrids. I think hybrids are great but I have never been able to picture myself owning one, I enjoy driving too much.

By the way, my wife and I happen to be two of those people who paid to see Celine Dion last year and she was fantastic. :)

Do you know what... I agree, actually. The Prius is slow, uncomfortable, expensive, badly made using cheap materials, has an awful ride quality and poor ergonomics. The formless seats don't adjust for height, the too-small steering wheel doesn't adjust for reach, and the rearward visibility is crap. It's noisy at speed, it has poor directional stability, the electric steering is vague, the brake feel is poor, and grip from the low-friction tires is minimal.

But it's a hybrid.

I'll drink to that!

Prius= Average fuel economy; Approximately 46mpg mixed
Fun factor (1-10) 1
MSRP $21,500

Buell 1125r= Average fuel economy; Approximately 46mpg mixed
Fun factor (1-10) 10.
MSRP $11,995

hmmmm....

You know, the folks that have responded caustically need to lighten up. It's an article on an online newsrag about....cars! Unless you're an enthusiast, not sure why you would be peeking at Insideline anyway.

Side note is that i'm over hearing about being green from celebrities and politicians that are the largest C02 emitters of anyone. Someone mentioned Al Gore earlier..yep, he flies alone on a Gulfstream jet. Nice. Our illustrious Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger her in CA? Flies home everyday from Sacramento to LA. Some much for that carbon cap he shook hands with Tony Blair on last year. Excellent!

Let's all lighten up...The earth warmed and cooled and mankind survived. Everyone has bought into global warming, yet I can't seem to fathom when I view the 11pm news how it was hotter in 1912 on this same day than in 2008 and lastly, everyone buying a hybrid is not going to turn all of this around by yesterday.

Want to pitch a hybrid or going green? Go to China and view their acid rain, toxic lakes, and dying grasslands. THEY are the ones who have become the largest polluters and have not focused much on "carbon footprints" and "green-ness". The Prius will fit in there as well with their traffic choked streets and highways.

That's it for me...enjoy the Olympics...if you can see the games through the clouds of smog in Beijing!

This was a little short on the maturity. That being said, it was simply written and so many people missed the point. It was joking about a serious point. That point is that the people who are so serious about the environment should re-evaluate things. Staying with the car you have over buying a hybrid will reduce the dreaded carbon footprint by slowing production and transport of the new cars. He is not belittling the idea of getting better milage, he's belittling the thinking of people who buy hybrids for their environmental impact.

Also, those people who make the sarcastic "economy be damned" comments should realize that the economy is slowing down anyway. There is, realistically, reduced demand, so, if people are so environmentally conscious they should realize that the best way to save the world is to not buy a new car. By the way, that reduced demand is the demand for cars in general; more people are buying hybrids, but those purchases are displacing the sales of other cars. The bottom line is people should stop spending the money to be "green" in this bad economy when it is just as green to not buy a new car.

Lastly, hybrids do suck. They are either luxury cars or SUVs that get barely acceptable gas mileage, and are a few thousand more than the standard models; or they are super economy cars with smaller than normal engines, poor interior quality, and zero fun factor.

This article comes off as moronic as the people it criticizes. The good points it does make are lost in its fanatical hate that produces overly emotional and pigheaded arguments.

Yea it'd be nice if there were no consequences to actions and we could all drive the kind of cars we want and desire. But at what cost does this desire come? Unless you can afford a commuter car and a fun car that you only drive occasionally, the next time you need to buy a new car, gas mileage and cleaner emissions should prob be on your mind. We should all be thinking about cleaner emissions and higher gas mileage vs the fun and desirable factor. Past generations didn't think about this and look where it got us.

Wow. I guess I wasn't aware that sooo many hard-core driving enthusiasts were being fleeced into trading their M3s for Prii by the evil marketing machine.

Please. Are page views down this month, or what? Hybrid buyers don't see the boring driving experience as a sacrifice because *most cars* are boring to them. And if your beef is with boring cars, you could have substituted "Corolla," "Impala," "Explorer," "Taurus," "Highlander," or any number of other blandmobiles for every time you wrote "hybrid."

Want to write a genuine, relevant rant about the creeping loss of driving pleasure? Take on twin-clutch gearboxes, rather than parroting the company line about shift speed and efficiency in your new-car reviews.

FAIL.

Last fall, I bought an Infiniti G37S coupe to replace my 24-year-old Mazda RX-7. I also looked at the Porsche Cayman, BMW 328i coupe and V6 Quattro versions of the Audi TT and A4. If the BMW 128i coupe had been available, it would have a candidate also.

Gas mileage was a consideration, but not the top one. It's worth several hundred dollars per year for me to drive a car I enjoy. Driving an econobox, whether or not it is a hybrid, is like taking out the garbage -- an unrewarding task you do only because the alternative is even more unpleasant.

If you want me to drive a hybrid, build a rear wheel drive model with a manual transmission that matches my G37S in performance and comfort. Otherwise, go pound sand!

To most of these comments: Give me a break. This is sarcasm, hyperbole, exaggeration, call it what you will, but it's posted on Straightline, a blog that bills itself as a car enthusiasts way to, "Feed your obsession." This isn't the Prius owners board, it's a blog for people who like to drive.

The purpose of this article is not to be taken at face value, but rather, to take a situation to a comical extreme in order to poke fun at both sides (Hybrid lovers and oil swillers). I agree with the underlying point here, which I see is to, among other things, mock the phony environmentalism espoused by pandering politicians and terroristic Green Peace style organizations that view mankind's survival as a blight on the world.

Hybrid's aren't a viable alternative for most people yet. They're expensive, complex, and they still haven't overcome basic issues that mar the driving experience. For your typical 4 cylinder Camry driver, none of that matters one iota as long as the thing pays for itself in a few years. However, for the target audience of Straigtline (and Inside Line in general, I'd say Edmunds itself appeals to a wider spectrum of people), hybrids are awful.

The point of this article is to remind people of what their priorities are. Car guys like driving. Environmentalists like hypermiling. Gamers like their playstations. And so on. The problem arises when, as now, the government decides that their is a 'right' way (or a politically popular way) for everyone to live. CAFE is dumb because it robs consumers of their right to own what they want. Hybrid tax credits are a similar allocations of funds, using some peoples' (mine and my father's) money to support a half-brained stop gap to a made up problem (global warming and energy shortages) to score politicians votes. Disgusting. Laissez-faire. Let the economy be and you won't be disappointed.

I agree with this article and am not afraid to say so (yeah, big statement on a blog forum, I know). You want economic ruination? Keep pushing the government to interfere in everyone's lives. Hey, look where it got the communist countries, the USSR (collective farms and total collapse), North Korea (population is still starving), or the pseudo communist ideas of much of Europe (burdened by welfare and stagnation, all in the desire by the misguided and niave to 'help' the downtrodden).

It's my sincere hope that the mechanic continues to write for IL (heck, he could teach a class at MIT and I'd be first to register. Call it 'Debunking Common Ignorance').

Awesome!

Speaking of "common ignorance," jr1m90, people like The Mechanic and all of the tiny-genital douchebags who like to drive Escalades tend to forget one thing: eventually, we WILL run out of gasoline. The Earth is only so big, and only contains so much oil. I'm not saying it's going to happen tomorrow, or even in the next 50 years. But eventually, we will run out. It takes millions of years for oil to form inside the Earth's crust. That's just reality.

And then there are also the realities of basic macroeconomics. I speak of supply and demand. Basic macro tells us that as demand increases, prices rise. Put a squeeze on that supply by, say, relying on hostile foreign nations for your supply of a product, and prices rise even higher in the face of high demand. So all the tiny-genital douchebags in their Escalades and Hummers are driving up demand with their gas guzzlers, contributing to jacked up pricing for the rest of us. Thanks, guys, for driving the car you want to drive. But hey, that's the 'merikan way: who cares about anyone else?

there is a compromise and it is called lean burn... get 400hp and 40 mpg... face it... the technology is here car companies just refuse to use it because of their connections to the oil companies... all those arab junkies sitting high and mighty with their collection of bugatti veyrons are responsible for us not having 40+mpg cars that are fun to drive... they just want our money seeing as we are the biggest consumer of oil worldwide by a landslide and to top it all off we all drive SUV's... why would they want us to use less fuel?

don't believe me? wiki "lean burn"

uberbox:

Prius
Fun factor (1-10) 1
Death factor: 1 (77 per million per year)
MSRP $21,500

Buell 1125r
Fun factor (1-10) 10.
Death factor: 37 (2849 per million per year, (0.28% death rate per year)
MSRP $11,995

http://www.iihs.org/research/fatality_facts_2006/motorcycles.html#sec3

hmmm.... well I wouldn't want either.
I'll take a diesel crossover.

Amen! True hybrids suck balls, big ones. It's just media and other tax rebates and incentives makes it look like a best sh.t on the market. In reality, it's just like fashion accessory, people buying it because it's the hottest thing to buy cause it's a frigging hybrid. It's gonna be out of fashion in few years and everyone is gonna say how they hated themselved and wanted to commit suicide because they drove this boring car all these miles.
In a few years(2-10 years), you will see a big change in automotive industry where buyers going to see dozens of new fun to drive small and medium sized diesel cars. I would love if they bring small diesel hatchbacks and small coupes like 1 series diesel. Diesel will be the next big thing in US, and I don't see hydrogen in the next 10 years yet. So be prepared!
Btw, please please get off the frigging left lane if you are not passing and please don't see the flashing lights as a permission for you to slow down 20mph below speed limit on the left lane.
Anyways, peace out everyone!

I salute you. Finally someone spoke up. I'm tired of the hybrids. My friend has one and keeps bragging about how much he saves on gas but when he gets into my car, he envies the fact that I can toss it around turns at high speeds, and that it has power to it. i'm sorry but they're just gimmicks to me.

jr1m90: Unfortunately for your argument, the article does not read like sarcasm. Instead, I'm reminded of a Penny Arcade theorem:

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/19/
http://www.pennyarcademerch.com/pat070381.html

I hate them too! They simply SUCK! I'd rater drive a toaster. Case in point, A Honda fit with a manual is infinitely more satisfying to drive than a civic hybrid, It may be more barebones transportation, but its more utilitarian, aton cheaper and is superbly thrifty too! And don't get me started on the Prius, I'd rather have a colonoscopy every day than to drive such a pile of crap!

If people want to drive Priuses that's fine by me. I wouldn't drive one myself, but I'm not going to dictate to someone else what they can or can't drive. Unfortunately for me, that's exactly what some politicians are trying to do.

If elected, Barack Obama wants to increase the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards by 4% every year. This comes out to roughly 38 MPG by 2016. That's not 38 highway MPG, thats 38 OVERALL MPG.

My car, a Mazda3, gets perfectly good gas mileage and doesn't come close to 38 overall. It is the most fuel efficient car Mazda makes. Therefore, in eight years, the AVERAGE Mazda will have to be approximately 25% more fuel efficient that the most fuel efficient Mazda of today.

I can see technology getting there sometime, but not in 8 years. The only cars that can get 38 overall MPG are hardcore hybrids like the Toyota Prius, and that's more because they have 90hp 3-cylinder engines than because they're hybrids.

The upshot of this is that carmakers will have to artificially jack up the price of sub-38 MPG cars to discourage people from buying them and bringing down their average fuel economy ratings. At the same time, they will also push cars that get more than 38 MPG to offset less-efficient vehicles.

That doesn't necessarily mean that everyone will get stuck driving a Prius, though. I would look at the Camry hybrid as a better model of the car of the future. It gets about 34 overall MPG, has power and performance equal to that of a 4-cylinder Camry, and costs about 30K fully optioned out.

Personally, I would rather spend 26K on a fully loaded Mazdaspeed3 that can blow the doors off of a humble Camry and use the extra 4K to make up the difference in gas money. That's just me, though. You can have your Camry hybrid if you want. Just let me have my Mazdaspeed3, too.

Drive what you want, I don't care what you drive or the reasons.

I only ask that people who seem so definitive about their beliefs, actually stick to them.

You want to save the environment, yet buy a product that isn't the cleanest to build, uses a lot of resources to build and ship around, and leads to more scrapmetal in the yards.

You can recoup costs on your hybrid all you want. In the end, it's still a A to B transport that isn't thrilling to drive if you're into that.

I did it my way, which was, save a high mileage '93 MR2 from the scrap yard, incredibly fun to drive, and still get about 30mpg.

So how did I save money? Loads of money saved off of depreciation can go to my future gas bills, nevermind the MUCH cheaper insurance costs going to future gas bills.

1 less new car off the road. 1 car that's far more fun to drive. 1 car that's still plenty economical. 1 car that is also very cost effective.

Just a quick add.

It'll really blow someones mind the day it'll only cost $5000 to $7500 to do an electric conversion altogether and not bother using gasoline at all. Something with 90mph top end, and 150mile range on a 4 hour charge.

It's not really that far away. Only then, I'd be laughing because hybrids still require gas.

People arent driving Prius' for the environment nit wit.
Their driving it because they have already cut as much of their budget as they can including groceries because of gas!

I WANT to drive my Ram 1500
BUT
It costs $850 a month now.

I would rather drive a small diesel but ALL people dont drive hybrids because they are "Green", they drive them because it is costing half their paycheck to MAKE that paycheck.

Wake up. Nobody really wants to drive a hybrid.

Consumerism keeps this economy running, if you ask me the real downfall is the recent scare over global warming. People got so ecological their consumerism suffered and so did our economy. An economy's strength is measured in the number of times money changes hands, and right now, its just not. This article not only speaks about the car world, but our country as a whole, we need to go back to striving for the best, the fastest, and the most smiles per miles or we'll find ourselves someday hunkered in a bunker with piles of cash asking ourselves what good it is if we can't enjoy it. If I could find 3k a year to add to my budget it wouldn't go into savings, it'd go into my car, so why not skip the runaround, motoring is what I enjoy, and I'll enjoy it.

-Spargo

ps get over the hybrids folks, its just a band aid, we all know electric, hydrogen, or some other form of that technology (essentially the same, stored, renewable energy all fed of a grid of power stations which is more efficient than one under every hood)

Hybrids are stupid. They cost more upfront, and there are regular vehicles that have Partially Zero Emissions (PZEV). If people really want to save that much money on gas, all you need to do is stop accelerating to red lights and stop signs, flooring it off the line, and idling for 15 minutes. Read my name, thats the car I drive, its quick, environmentally friendly, and still good on gas.

It's not 45 mpg city good on gas.

People…please stop, take a deep breath, clear your head, and try to think rationally. Can you honestly say that driving a hybrid helps the environment? Mankind and all its supposed implements of destruction account for 2% of ALL…repeat…ALL the CO2 in the ENTIRE atmosphere. Guess what…270,000 years ago while prehistoric man was cruising the earth, the earth’s average temperature was 7 degrees warmer than it is now, and despite the fact that there were NO man made contrivances emitting CO2, the levels then were about 12% higher than they are now. And 20,000 years ago while man was hunting the Wooly Mammoth and running from the Saber-Tooth Tiger the earth was 11 degrees cooler than it is now and CO2 levels were about 19% lower than they are today. The bottom line is...it is naïve and egotistical for you (mindless sheep that rely on the 10 o’clock for scientific information) to think insignificant little Man causes global warming and that driving a Prius will somehow slow, stop, or reverse this process. Our climate has been and will continue to be in a state of flux. If there were no such thing as fossil fuel, we would still be experiencing this same, natural phenomenon. Man made global warming is a figment of your imagination just like the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. Please do some research and quit putting all your faith in people like Al Gore. Finally, if you drive a hybrid why do you read IL? I love my Dodge 1500 Hemi and my G35 Sport! Rock on Mechanic ;)

man is this ever getting boring.

No orangutan, an 08 V6 Accord doesn't get 45 mpg in the city, but if you want to drive it easy, you can run on 3 or 4 cylinders and still have a nice looking car with luxury features. Oh ya, and have fun repairing a hybrid engine when something goes wrong, you can bet it will be expensive.

1 more thing, purchased the car brand new from the dealer, $32,100 CDN with tax. A slow, ugly looking, small Prius cost that price....

Sadly the rants here reflect the level depth most Americans have with almost any issue. It's either black or white. Google something related to the topic and educate yourself. Hybrids will not solve the solution obviously. But read a conservative article, a liberal one, and if you get that far and can find it, one that's more purely scientific and rational than either.

And while I disagree with most of the points of this article, I find it refreshing that a site that only exists because of car ads, would bite the hand of one of its biggest advertisers.

But people who take this to mean they have the right to drive the biggest, fattest car have it all wrong. It is irresponsible, but at some point we need to direct that to a bunch of other much smaller, or invisible choices we could be making that just might make a difference. And I think mikelg2 said it best - a 30mpg MR2 is a hell of a lot more fun than any land barge, and almost guilt free.

Congratulations too this guy i think he just broke the edmunds' record for the most comments in one day!

But i'm lovin it i say thank you to all the Prius owners and future owners your makin the world greener and i can feel less about my car only getting 14 mpg (on a good day) =)!

I own a Prius. I call it my freedom machine. It isn't shackled by shitty fuel economy.

I agree with bubbafrank. Drive your boring prius if you want and be happy watching your MPG gauge and I'll keep driving my 350Z and watch my speedometer. The world needs the "good" and the "evil". I always thought the Joker was much cooler than Batman anyway.

Lemme get this striaght: it's Al Gore & The Liberals fault we're running out of oil and that Oil-Man President has allowed us to approach $4.50 a gallon on gas (despite the fact we already did this once in the 1970s)?

You also forgot to blame Lee Iacocca for his recent book blasting poor strategic planning in Detroit: damn pinko who saved Chrysler has no clue. And those damn Japs, Chinks, and Euro-Pansies have no clue, either

And the Arabs are our frends in Teh War on Terrah.

Efficient does not have to be boring: the Altima Hybrid is actually pretty cool - but that is not my point.

My point is when did Edmunds start paying someone who thinks with his colon?

Hey mechanic, you the same fat POS that charged me $615 for a 15K service on a 2005 Forester XT? Just kidding. You sound like one of those guys who wishes to relive the "60's". Remember the hangover? Cars from the "70's" FYI - there's this thing called global warming? and gas will never get below $3.75 again, so we need to live in today's reality. I love speed, had cars and bikes from 16 yrs old. Hit 176 on a zx10 and did Montaulk to the Palladium NYC in 1990 in under 1 hr. (hit 165 in a Ponitac firebird 350 with a cam and headers on the LIE)That was then, when I could refill said T/A for 20 bucks for the ride back. Just ordered us a Prius, and it pained me to do it, but the reality is that my damn Forester xt averages about 15 mpg in the city and hasn't broken 20mpg per tank since we bought it new. Costs me 50 to fill it! Hybrid performance might stink today, but tomorrow they'll be great. I dream of the day when a battery powered car can hit 60 in 3.5 ticks, top out @ 190 mph, go 600 mi. on one charge and charge up in under 2 minutes. Know why? Because I believe in the future and there's always a better tomorrow.

I thought I was doing the right thing by purchasing the new Civic Hybrid back in 2006. After driving the hybrid for 6 months and enjoying the smell of my own fart, the enjoyment turned to frustration. I now why all true Hybrids get such great gas mileage: it's also fueled by bitterness and rage at it's sucky performance.

I found a great compromise, I bought a weekend car: AMG Mercedes with a fuel sucking 5.4 liter V8 that scoots my butt to 60MPH in 4.9 seconds.

I drive the Hybrid during the weekday and the AMG during the weekend. Balance restored.

hmmm. I'd say that seeing that there are lots and lots responses I'd say that Edmunds got what they wanted. Attention to this page and that means that we all saw the advertisements on the page. Which means one person somewhere might have been swayed to do something. Which means that Edmunds and an advertiser made some money. Ok, now rant about that!

I really don't like negative people. Who cares about who drives what car? If you want a 10 MPG Hummer, then go for it. If someone else drives a Prius, what's the big deal? If I had a choice, I would have the same deal like autoobsession1 above. Drive a hybrid during the week (as my routine driving involves downtown, traffic, cops waiting to pull you over for drive 5 mph over the limit), and then have something fun to drive for recreation. If I had an M3 as my sole car, I'm sure it would just drive itself off a bridge as it will never be used for its true potential.

AMEN!!!!!

I'm both surprised and not at the vitriol the article is receiving. Personally, I sympathize with the article and say "Right on". I want a car that draws me to the windows for a gaze, and not because every time I look at it I think, "Gee, this car gets great gas mileage." I'd much prefer to think upon sight, "That car is all kinds of fun to drive." From everything I've heard, you just don't get that kind of feeling driving a Prius. Were I to look out the window at a Prius in my driveway, it'd be more like peering at an oddity than gazing upon a savage beauty. I want a car I can /drive/ and enjoy the process, not a car I can just get from point A to B in.

I like hybrids . . . they are paying for the tech that will bring an affordable electric car that will be fun.

I don't like hybrids . . . to pricey for me and not a lot of fun, great for commuting but I'd like some fun when just cruising around town and vacationing.

Hybrids get their best fuel economy when driven around town NOT on the highway. My daily commute is 85-90% highway driving, rural setting no traffic or gridlock. I'll wait for an all electric vehicle that is fun to drive around town.

Bottom line - Drive what you want, can afford and have fun with it. Until there is an affordable and fun all electric option most of us, tree huggers or otherwise, will be fueling up every four to seven days no matter what the price of fuel is.

Thank you! Thank You! Thank You!

For standing up and telling all those 'green' people that their hero car is not so great. That there hero is worse then what they have and that keeping what they have is cheaper every time.

Thank you for saying what needed to have been said. People are too much into this "hybrids are green and I need to be green."

My 2000 civic gets almost(within +-3mpg) the same gas mileage as a hybrid or better. Look at the hybrid SUVs what a joke.

If you want fuel economy go with a diesel, if you want a nice car get a beamer but don't waste your time and money on a hybrid.

Thank you final someone with common sense

WOW.

I haven't read any of the comments yet, but WOW. That was one heck of a diatribe. This is the first I've heard of The Mechanic, and it's a doozy. He/She reminds me of Lewis Black, with less funny.

I'm so in awe of this article, I am not even sure how I feel. This is a collective bubble bursting of immense proportions. You could run ads on Nickelodeon saying Santa isn't real, and you'd burst less bubbles.

I don't want to make too much of this article, but I think it could be life-changing for many who read it.

Why is it everyone assumes that someone who buys a hybrid is also someone who supports Al Gore? Toyota didn't start making the Prius because that's what Al Gore wanted.

The whole point is to get better mileage. Not necessarily because anyone cares about being green or what Al Gore says.

People aren't too much into being green, they're too much into saving money. Why do you think stores like Costco and 99 cent store exist?

By the way, gas prices will only go up. I think that you idiots flaming people who buy hybrids are going to figure out sooner or later that you it's going to become harder and provide you with less money back to trade in a gas only vehicle. Has anyone noticed that depreciation on newer cars have gotten worse? Some dealerships are declining SUV's as trade ins already.

come on now folks, the man makes a lot of good points you have to admit. I like saving the environment too, but to be completely honest I don't think most hybrid owners truly care that they're saving the economy. Most of the ppl I know want hybrids #1 because of high gas prices. Once again, money makes the world go round.

I agree, we live in a society where Al Gore tells us what to drive (hybrids)and so on. Hybrids are mostly bought for image and tax credits and being able to drive alone in the HOV lane. Al Gore also is a major hypocrite who drives non hybrid SUV's in case y'all don't know.

Also, Bluerider51 Barrack Obama has no substance in what he says in case you did'nt know.
"there's this thing called global warming?" give me a break,global warming is something that scientists don't agree on whether it's real also, it's just some smoke and mirrors show to get people to buy cars that they didn't want.

I think the author of this article has many viable points and has made everyone think, and argue about whats best. I don't know if anyone has touched on it, but to me it seems as though Toyota have simply a great marketing team working on the Prius and has everyone hooked. Think of other brainwashing marketing schemes that people are hooked on. Remember the ads for apple with a young guy saying I'm a Mac and an older less hip guy saying he's a PC, arguing over what they can do. Come on!!! They are both just computers! But people are hooked on Mac's as they look cool, but do they really do they job any better? Its just good marketing for the company to get ahead and clearly its working for Toyota as they are now increasing production of the prius.

I think the Mechanic is not kidding. I don't know who wrote it, but I know the IL editors like to DRIVE.

Btw, this is a blog post, which doesn't adhere to the same editorial standards as an article, specifically regarding bias.

Like some of the other people writing here, a hybrid wound not be the right choice for my type of commute...about 90% hiway and rural twisty roads. No way is any hybrid going to be ideal for that. I got the best economical ride for that commute. A 2007 WRX wagon. It is practical, quick as heck, handles great and still does 25-27 mpg. Which is plenty good enough. I had a civic prior to that wouldn't do much better than 30-31 mpg on the same commute b/c of the flogging it took to maintain any sort of speed. I must say I like 225+ hp MUCH better than 127hp.

"I love this story because it got everybody's panties in a bunch."

+1

As another user stated, maybe the author just wanted to go for the "most comment" record, and he did it by picking a controversial topic and then proceding to try and piss everyone off.

On a serious note, each to their own. If you bought your car because it's the one you chose after considering a lot of sound factors, good. If you bought it because your a mindless consumer, then your an idiot :)

All we need is a powerful diesel with a hybrid system ... that will satisfy everyone needs here... you get the fuel efficiency and the power ... driving will be fun again!!

We are intrinsically consumist. We need to isolate what we need from what we want. Every year I hear how car models get bigger, heavier, faster. Yes, Car companies claim the improve gas mileage and horsepower over prior models but, was it necessary? Could Ford make that Mustang perhaps more efficient? Do we need 5.3 sec 0-60 speeds? Do we need top speeds of 140 miles on a daily driver?

Current hybrids are more a panic purchase. People trade in their Explorers, lose $7k in the process, only to replace it with a hybrid Accord which runs for about $5k more than the regular Accord yet only improves over all fuel efficiency by about 10%.

Lets do the math: this typical basic transaction cost initially $12k. People keep their cars for about 4-5 years. How much money did these people save? What is the environmental cost of producing a new car and the disposal of the batteries? I don’t know, but it seems like the trade is not justified, yet.

We need to live closer to work:
Americans are willing to live further in order to live in the hills, or to be able to afford that 6 bedroom home. Last time I checked the average size family is shrinking yet houses are getting bigger and bigger.

We don’t need SUVs:
It took $5 per gallon gas for Americans to realize that we actually don’t need that Suburban, that Hummer or that Excursion. Americans drive the biggest cars, possess the biggest houses and eat the biggest portions of food in the world. Why, because we are from another planet? No; we do it because we want to and because we can afford it.

I sound like a tree hugger in my last comment, but by the way, I drive a IS350.

I think this is a great article, and applaud edmunds for posting it. How could you strive to be the best auto forum if you can't express both sides of an issue, as well as ruffle some feathers by being blunt about. If you get too conservative about every issue, then you should change your website to ford.com/edmunds.
Back to the issue, I am a Toyota Prius driver and i still believe in some points of the mechanic; SOME!!
I used to drive a Lincoln Navigator, which i bought used when gas was 2.4 roughly; & let me tell you that i really loved my Navigator. However between my new job, and my new house which i love even more; i have landed myself a 110 mile commute. With Gas prices continually soaring, i had no choice; i had to get rid of my Navigator. I really wanted to keep it and get a second car, but insurance was tearing me apart, therefore i got rid of it & traded it in for my brand new prius in January. I wanted the most economical car that i could find, and couldn't afford to keep waiting for the Honda Accord diesel; i had to act now. My brand new Prius for 23k (26k after taxes & negative equity). I don't really find the car attractive, nor is it not attractive. But if it wasn't for it's economy i wouldn't have bought it. It has been 6 months now & i am almost at 18k miles, & getting 53mpg.
The Prius is, and should be a commuter car. It should be for the people who are willing to sacrifice what it is that they love and instead settle to drive what is best for their family by saving tons of money like i am doing now. I know i will be getting my hybrid premium back in less than 2 years. But I dont agree with the smug image people try to portray by buying a Prius; the starbucks image which the mechanic referred to it as. I hate and don't drink coffee.
However i don't feel that the Prius should be criticized either. Electric cars are the answer to the future. I firmly believe this because i would have much preferred to buy a Plug in EV over my Prius. But this solution hasn't come about yet; and the opinions of and like the Mechanic are whats holding back the progress of Mankind. This and the suppression of the water car technology. There are commuters like myself who need this car, whether it is cool or not. Therefore i am glad that Toyota has recognized this, and has offered to push forward with the progress of man, instead of forcing us to live in the post dark ages that the combustion engine seems to be sucking us back into.
But i still admire those of you who can afford to drive your GT's and SUV's. Someday, when Navigators and sports cars are electric (or perhaps an even better technology) i will join you guys again.
Till then, stop making fun of us for driving hybrids.

I love the environmental logic. Don't do anything, it's more environmentally friendly. Sounds about as moronic as people that think kids are evil because the planet is over-populated.

Supply chains for new technologies are always less efficient. So, I guess any new technology is inherently evil? But why should I be surprised by such short term thinking?

If mechanic was leading the monkeys out of the trees, we'd still be monkeys. Then again, I'm sure most of you knuckledraggers don't believe in evolution either, I'm just another fool duped by science.

The auto industry needs another bailout. The financial institutions are a mess. But, thank god we look cool on our way to the poorhouse!

Looks like this article ruffled some feathers...Face it people, hybrids are over priced and over rated. If it's economy that you seek why not buy a Yaris, Fit, etc for half the price? If driven properly they can get 40mpg...The problem I have with Prius people is that they love walking around saying "oh, I'm getting 50mpg" yet they don't mention the fact that they got an economy car that is 2x more expensive than a regular economy car yet does not get 2x the gas mileage. There are two types of people that buy this car tree huggers who can afford it and those who trade in their cars thinking they are saving so much money because their Prius gets great gas mileage. Problem with them is that they forgot that besides the gas they have to pay a car note, taxes, negative equity, interest, you know all that good stuff people don't think about until the repo man comes to take their cars away..In the end they save nothing...Fact is that the same boneheads that got huge SUVs are the same boneheads that are buying Priuses. I suspect they are the same boneheads who bought over priced homes too...Anyway, I guess we should thank them because the money they are spending on these cars will enable the makers to make them cheaper so in about 10 years you will be able to get a hybrid or electric for 10 grand...I guess it's the same people who ran out and got $1500 microwaves, $1000 vcrs, $15,000 plasma screens, etc, etc.....

This is, quite possibly, the best thing Edmunds ever published. Ever.

Forgot to add to the Gore bashing....He owns a home here in TN and his electric usage is some absurd number like 10 or 20 times (i forget which) higher than the average American home. Not surprising since his home is something like 20,000 sqft...This came out last year after that joke Nobel prize they gave him (or he bought). At the time, he said he was working on making his home more efficient..Turns out that his usage this year is 10% higher than last year!

There are a lot of people here who espouse a holier than thou attitude because they feel they care about the planet more than the next person. Look, let's be clear on one thing: the planet is going to kill us LONG before we even come close to killing it. You have no power to "save" the earth; what is happening with the environment is pure-D nature. We are spewing chemicals into the atmosphere, yes, but many of these chemicals are actually good for our vegetation.
Don't get me wrong -- we should be more responsible for the type of world we're leaving our children, but let's all take a deep breath here. Our cars are not the noxious beasts they were from the time they were invented until the 1980s, when we really began reducing emissions. Heck, we can even breathe some of the exhaust gases coming out of certain cars.
What humans are scared of is being targeted by mother nature for extinction. Well folks, we cannot stop it. When the earth is tired of us, it will get rid of us. Gas prices be damned -- I will damn well drive what I want. I have earned it through sweat, blood and quite possibly a mental condition that won't manifest itself until later in life due to some of the crap I went through while serving in the USMC. Not saying that I'm better than anyone -- I just know my place in the pecking order, and I realize no matter what we do, it ain't changin'.

What's a hybrid?

Hybrids are the best thing for cars, i think every new car that comes out should be a hybrid. people should get hybrids to help the earth. stop driving big SUV's and ugly cars that make black smoke. enough with the old honda civics and other 10-25 year old cars that are still on the road. get with the future.

I drive a 2005 Ford F250. I bought it new. I've worked hard enough throughout my life to finally be able to enjoy WHAT I WANT TO ENJOY.

I pay for the gas, I pay for the maintenance. Don't see me complaining do you?

No.

Because it was MY decision, funded by MY hard earned money.

In my opinion, it's the people's choices to own whatever vehicle they want to own.
If they have the means, so be it.

I drive 36 miles a day to work, and I average 23mpg on the freeway with the powerstroke diesel.

I could own a little go go car that gets that gas mileage, but I don't WANT to. I don't HAVE to.

My truck gets just as good of gas mileage as my son's little Nissan car.

I'm not a person who doesn't use this truck either, I use it to tow my horse trailer to shows, to tow my skiboat to the lake every weekend, go camping, haul stuff, beat it as a truck is meant to be beaten.

My whole point here, is that it's YOUR life. Not HIS or HER life, but YOURS, and YOURS alone. Do with it what YOU please, make the decision for yourself. If YOU, yourself, want to be eco-friendly, be all means, DO IT. Don't do it just because it's the new trend, because it makes you feel better about yourself, even if it's not what you want. Do it because it's something you want to do.

Bravo. "The greenest thing you can do is keep your car". 99 times out of 100 that is so true, and in the 1 out of 100 it isn't it's still greener to buy a normal Civic or whatever than a full-on hybrid.

And for those who aren't interested in saving the environment and just want to save some gas money, have you not noticed how freaking expensive hybrid cars are? My mom's Prius was $28,000 two years ago, and she got a good deal (MSRP on a Prius was no mean feat at the time) and it's only moderately equipped. How much more car can you get for $28k in every respect but fuel economy? Much, much more. Or you can get a car that's similarly equipped and offers similar or better performance for several thousand less and put that in your tank. It's utterly ridiculous.

hm what about those who went towards the used car market and bought a salvage prius? How green is that :)

even though when i was hypermiling yes my civic was getting 45 mpg and now im 55 mpgish here and there, but hey beats restarting the engine all the time with the clutch :) plus prius is relaxing to drive to A to B compared to my civic which i godda shift all the time and such... don't get me started on the trunk space! (7th gen coupe)

You can't satisfy everyone, Prius is boring yes but for the interior room it offers, its more comfy than any yaris or small car that you can buy on the market.

Compare apples to apples please, small car vs medium size car is not a fair comparison. If MPG and cost was your ultimatum than yes go with a yaris for cost/mpg ratio.

But I'm sure MPG wasn't the only reason a Prius was purchased, there are many factors that came into play. But don't doubt the technology just because it hasn't worked out for you or you couldn't afford it.

And for the person that says Prius repairs will be costly I work in a Toyota dealership and quite frankly I rarely see priuses in here for a repair (and they've been out since 01?) And if they do, what makes you think a conventional car doesn't require a pricey repair bill I've seen some nasty bills for old aging cars, or cars that just came out of warranty.

http://www.caradvice.com.au/14639/toyota-prius-the-taxi-champion/

yea hybrid are expensive, but i blame the supply and market demand, I've read some stories of people getting their hybrid for a sweet deal, and of course some paying way above MSRP...

that will change once the new global honda hybrid comes out that everyone can afford.

Then again if you truly want to be green, yes keep your used car and hypermile the living shit out of it.

Somebody found a sharp stick and started poking.

Looks like it's a pretty good stick.

That's what I'm talking about! You can just feel the anger in your words and it's about time I see something like this posted. I can't recall how many times a slow Prius driver has clogged up the highway traffic doing 60 or the opposite where they cut everyone else off in the parking lot, then pull out in front of oncoming traffic flooring it the whole way. I liked how Jeremy Clarkson puts it, hybrids are a "very expensive, very complex, not terribly green, slow, cheaply made, and pointless way of getting around."

lol until jermery drove the lexus 450h, that changed his mind good.

you can always buy a used civic and did what this guy did http://charlotte.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/man_vs_mileage/Content?oid=338864

those who say hybrids can't satisfy a v8 lover think again http://www.canadiandriver.com/hemihybrid/index.htm

I think the hybrids are a BABY STEP in the right direction, but too often people seem to think it is a massive step. People, economy cars have been around for years! People have always been trying to save fuel, this isnt a new thing. Just think of Toyotas first Corolla .. a performance machine .. no!
Yes you can find things wrong with the story but this is a hot button issue because SOME not ALL hybrid owners want a damn pat on the back for buying a fuel effecient car. Ive been driving a 35 MPG PZEV car for years, wheres my green sticker? The Cobalt XFE get 39 to 40 MPG ... where is the Generals Green Award? I understand the world needs to change but honestly hybrids are NOT the answer.
It all comes back to transportation. We want the Big Screen ... it has to be shipped. We want a car from Japan or Kansas ( if we dont live in kansas) it has to be shipped! We either drop our materialistic society, or find a way to enjoy our transportation without killing the world.

Your Hybrid is not the answer but thanks for contributing to Worldwide Economies.

I have to say, I read most of the comments tonight, instead of going to bed early for my big day at work. I read them all because they where interesting...really. I think that we should all drive what we really need. I went for a quick visit in Victoria a couple weeks ago, and was impressed with the number of Prius' as Cabs. As many of you have said, Prius' are good on gas in the city. Make all the Taxis prius' and I think you got real economy (cheaper cab rides, more taxi usage, more commuting). I do agree with the fact that it will not affect Global Warming, or stop ice from melting up north. But guess what, we have to start somewhere.What I'm trying to say, is that if we ditch the idea of buying a Prius, because we think that it won’t change anything...then nothing will change. If we go buy a prius, or get a cleaner diesel, then someday 747's will get better gas consumption, and heck maybe we can even get China to reduce emissions.
Want a vehicle for you, look correctly, and think about gas usage, because gas prices will NOT go down. Even if somebody found a huge supply, it will still grow (contrary to economic laws).
I changed my Corolla for a Rav4. I got the 4Cyl, for gas consumption, but switched car because I needed a car to hole my Jet-Ski, Kayaks, and Snowboards in the winter. I bought a Rav4 in consideration for my needs, and I would have paid for a Hybrid version if there was one.
But please...if you have a Hummer only for the looks and daily shopping, then change trend and buy a Highlander Hybrid (More luxurious also). And for the other people, stop complaining.

I remember seeing pictures of UAW workers smashing Japanese cars in the 1970s. I'm sure it felt pretty good to pummel a little foreign no-personality POS that people were inexplicably buying.

This post seems to be in the same spirit.

to 70ss454_man about making your own decision, you should make the right decision and get rid of the truck and get a hybrid which is better for the enviroment. everyone should get hybrids. sooner or later car companys are going to stop make gasoline cars and make electric and hydrogen cars so get over it. Congress should pass a bill to get rid of cars that are crap and that are 10-20 years and older cars of the road and replace them with hybrids.

"Congress should pass a bill to get rid of cars that are crap and that are 10-20 years and older cars of the road and replace them with hybrids."

Who gets to decide which ones are crap?

Who is going to pay for replacing the 10-20 year old cars with hybrids? Most people driving 10-20 year old cars, do so because they can't afford newer ones. It's always easy to spend the other guy's money.

70ss454 did make the right decision - for him. Apparently you don't like his decision - so you should decide differently. It's a novel concept, but it's called freedom.

FWIW, I look forward to alternative powered cars, when they are priced "right", fun to drive, and reliable. I have no doubt this will be achieved; I don't know when.

Whatever Mnorm1 you know what cars are crap? the ones that make black smoke and multi-colored and rusted and so on. and you know who should pay for new ones congress. stop spending money on things we dont need. and for people who cant afford a new car get rid of them and take public transportation. duh
I also look forward to alternative powered cars, i wish every car was a non-gas powered car. i mean its almost 2009, where are the flying cars and all.

I liked this article more when it was posted here:

http://origin.www.spike.com/blog/five-reasons-why/66839

Great article- have to agree and I see why it offends- because there are a lot of people who like to settle but don't like to admit it. They settle for an unnatractive house because the deal was good and an unnatractive spouse because they do marvelous housework and an unnatractive job because it pays the bills and they've settled for 1 million camry's and soon to be prius's because the refrigerator boxes make good financial sense. I don't mind hybrids for hybrid's sake just put the technology inside something that evokes more than a gag reflex! PS --Come on Honda your new soon to be hybid looks exactly like an ugly prius! Always the safe route and always buyers I guess.

"you know who should pay for new ones congress"

And that makes it free, right? No one pays if congress does?

I don't want a hybrid. Hell, I would never, ever drive another Toyota let alone Honda. If they can't make regular cars that don't blow engines due to sludge and have tansmissions that fail twice in 20k miles, why would I think they can make anything more complicated, reliable? I'll stick with my Diesel pick up. 23 mpg. 90% highway. Hybrid would do me no good anyway. Wait till all of those battery packs need replacing at $8000 a pop. You will hear a different story from the tree hugging hybid buyer. WAAA WAAA WAAA.

Well then it's clear that all we need is a good looking hybrid that doesn't compromise much performance, and gets great gas milage. All of those are within reach, the American car companies just need to get on that page that if they do make a good looking hybrid with better than average performance, they will destroy the lunchbox style hybrids called the Prius and Civic. I think Chevy has the idea with their volt concept, at least from the looking cool standpoint. Time will tell, but I think that we'll get those appealing hybrids faster than we expect since it's obvious that gridlock in congress will eventually drive oil into astronomical prices.

D.S.
MIT

if you want a new car an be environmental buy a toyota yaris. yes its boring, but it gets great gas milage without the environmental nightmare of all the nicad or lion batteries that one day will go back into the system. Only problem is you can't show everyone how much you care about the environment (see the South Park Smug episode)

well I wouldnt drive the yaris either, but it shows how much BS is in this 'green thing'

I will take my 460 v8 (torino)
or my 5 spd mustang and enjoy :)

The author's rant is just plain ridiculous. I mean...once we totally ignore the fact that these NiCad battery plants completely destroy the environment around them...or that tree-huggers have basically forced the US to become one of the world's biggest importers of refined gasoline (more expensive to import) instead of being the world's leading exporter...or that these hybrid write-offs are offset by taxpayer money...or that hybrids are a temporary bandage when compared to fully electric cars (what we should be investing time/money into instead)...or that water vapor in the atmosphere actually traps more heat than CO2...or that the earth naturally goes through cycles of heating/cooling (anyone remember the "global cooling" scare a few decades ago?)...then it's easy to see how buying a hybrid is really helping to lower gas prices and "heal" the planet.

This is great. Reading the comments is almost better than reading the article. I'll add this - NO ONE has ever bought a Prius simply to save money. There's simply better ways to save money buying a car. Using info from Toyota's website, a new Prius costs $21500 and gets 46mpg mixed. At 12,000 miles a year, and $4.00 per gallon, fuel costs are $1043 per year. [12,000/46) x 4] A new Corolla costs $15250 and gets 32mpg mixed, costing $1500 a year to fuel up. Price difference is $6250, not including taxes, interest, etc. For that price, it would take over THIRTEEN YEARS to break even [(21,500-15250)/$467 - the cost difference in gas for a year]. Obviously, nearly everyone writing has substantiated The Mechanic's point. They are driving what they want. Some folks just want to tell people that they are more wonderful because of their gas mileage. They enjoy the status that comes with driving the ubiquitous enviro-car. To the Prius owners, please just be a little more honest about "all the money" that you're saving. You easily could be saving more. But thanks for using less gasoline, to help keep it just a little bit cheaper for those of us who drive a 15 year-old Jeep Cherokee to Circle K for coffee instead of a Prius to Starbuck's.

who give's a #$% what Insideline thinks about Hybrids. Oh yeah, I forgot, it's the anonymous 'mechanic'. Like the classic: "A Puertorican abducted my kid"

Sophomoric, salient, salty, salacious. I loved it. Nuke the whales!

If you want to be green, ride a bike. If you want to drive, then drive. But drive something you love driving. i agree wholeheartedly. By the way, hybrids use more fossil fuels in the long run than a hummer H3.

praise the lord sweet baby jesus! someone has finnally said what needs to be said. lets all bow to the Mechanic!

"NO ONE has ever bought a Prius simply to save money. There's simply better ways to save money buying a car."

I think you are wrong on this one , people are so stupid that they don't do this simple math. THERE ARE A LOT of people buying them because they THINK they are saving money. That's why sales are high and TM is making even more....Got a coworker who brags about it ALL the time. He said he had a van that he was spending 70 bucks to fill up but now with a Prius it only costs him 30 bucks. I was like, yeah but now you have a $500 (paid like $28k for the thing) car payment and you had a $0 car payment with your van yet still insists he is saving money. You see, people are DUMB, they don't get it and they don't do the simple math that tells them the car is not worth it...Not that I care either way....

I do have to agree with some of it, but mostly people are buying it for the gas milege. But there are so many other alternatives than hybrids.
Chevy Cobalt
Mini Cooper
Smart Car
Honda Civic

people just like telling people that they drive a hybrid so they can sound green.
i did a whole presentation on why not to buy hybrids. DONT. You'll spend all your gas savings on battery repairs.

I do have to agree with some of it, but mostly people are buying it for the gas milege. But there are so many other alternatives than hybrids.
Chevy Cobalt
Mini Cooper
Smart Car
Honda Civic

people just like telling people that they drive a hybrid so they can sound green.
i did a whole presentation on why not to buy hybrids. DONT. You'll spend all your gas savings on battery repairs.

Wow, someone needs a nap. I love my Hybrid. I've owned SUV's and trucks. I can't afford to any more. My Hybrid Prius was no more expensive than a mid-sized domestic sedan. Yes, I do turn around to look at it in the driveway. I get many comments about how zippy it looks. Do I like to drive it? You bet. It's speedy enough for me. But I bought it for safety, comfort, cargo area, and reliability. No problems with that. So, yes, I LOVE to drive it. The fun is in passing gas stations in a comfortable car while getting mid-50 MPG. Get a real hybrid. I couldn't rationalize quite as well as the Mechanic...thus the gas guzzlers got traded. Who's smiling now?

I've got a Nissan Altima Hybrid with the works, and, unlike the Prius, it actually does better on the highway than the city. (Too bad for me, cause I do mostly city driving.) And it's got more punch than the 2.5L gas-only version. More fun to drive, surely, than my Highlander was... and miles ahead of the Prius in style, power, and comfort (though not fuel economy.) I could have chosen the Prius jsut for the FE, but wasn't willing to give up the fun stuff. Not to mention Prius is a total ripoff at thousands over sticker. I DO enjoy looking at my Altima every day.

I thought I was the only politically incorrect one who hated these hybrids. They are clogging up the roads and snarling traffic, and therefore cause more pollution than what they prevent. Driving one of them is just for the image to try and impress. The hype does not impress me. Maybe Al Gore thinks they are hip....

I can't stand riding in a car that has a CVT. It's very satisfying to hear and feel a car change gears.

Who cares about the polar bears anyway....

Diesels have an amazing amount of torque,
and they sound cool too.

All hail the American V8!

O.K., I'll bite and respond to this already played out rant.
"You should want your car. You should want to be in your car. Desire. That's the word I'm looking for. Does anybody really desire a Prius?"
The Mechanic's rant was very successful at starting the flame war litany seen above but what I don't expect him to understand, being just a mechanic, is the elegance of technological sophistication.
What's not to desire about an electric motor that by virtue of design, makes a ton of torque right from the start where it's most necessary? What's not to like about using, in parallel, a small gas powered motor to operate where a higher level of constant horsepower is necessary, taking advantage of operating two machines in the ranges where they are most efficient rather than a single relatively inefficient machine across a very wide spectrum? What's not to like about using potential and kinetic energy to put chemical potential energy back into a battery bank by virtue of running an electric motor like a generator when you coast down a hill?
My suggestion to The Mechanic would be to think about the fact that just because you are unable to understand what is the real essence and elegance of a field (in this case the various engineering disciplines and the essence of every engineering endeavor is simply efficiency), don't think that it does not exist.
Many times, and this case is a quintessential example, there are reasons, motivations, and real sources of attraction (the desire you speak of) that remain hidden to cursory examination but which, upon a little bit of thought, may reveal themselves as objects intense lust to anyone clever and persistent enough to look for them.

I find it sad that so many people adopt all or nothing attitudes--e.g. "If I cannot drive a very powerful V8 powered whatever I cannot and moreover WILL not have any fun and will be miserable in a Prius, or perhaps an Accent or Rio." What about a Mini CooperS? A MazdaSpeed3?

Another question: Why is it a (pejorative) "politically correct" stance to want to have more money to spend on other things by conserving gasoline? When gas was $1.50 per gallon, I drove cars that got 30+ mpg because I preferred vacations, dining out--whatever to giving my money to oil companies.

FIRST OFF YOU ARE AS SMART AS MY DOG. LET ME EXPLAIN
"Driving a hybrid sucks. A real hybrid, like a Prius, or a Civic. Please don't lump those fake hybrids into this rant. And by fake hybrids, I mean those leather-laden Lexuses"
A HONDA CIVIC IS NOT A REAL HYBRID IT IS A MILD HYBRID AND YES THOSE "LEATHER-LADEN LEXUSES" ARE REAL FULL HYBRIDS. OHH AND BY THE WAY YOU CAN GET A PRIUS FULLY LOADED WITH LEATHER, NAVIGATION, BLUETOOTH AND SO ON.

"I know, they're good on gas and gas is expensive. Hey, jughead, anything worth having is expensive."
GAS IS A LIMITED RESORCE IT WILL KEEP GOING UP UNTIL ITS GONE AND WE FALL IN TO COMPLETE ECONOMIC TURMOIL, UNLESS WE DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT LIKE START DRIVING HYBRIDS.

"Too bad popularity is not a measure of good."
IF IT IS POPULAR IT IS ALWAYS GOOD, IT MIGHT NOT BE GOOD FOR YOU BUT IT IS GOOD FOR THE MAJORITY.

"And if that car is a hybrid it takes even more factories and even more trucks because the car is now that much more complex. There's an electric motor, batteries, etc."
MORE PEOPLE EMPLOYED LAST TIME I CHECKED THAT WAS A GOOD THING???

"shut down all those dirty factories that build all those new cars. And if we do that, we can stop all the trucks and the ships that transport all those new cars to those new car dealers. And then all those new car dealers can turn off their lights and the employees can stop driving their cars to work."
THAT IS A GREAT PLAN, I'M SURPRISED YOU AREN'T ON BUSH'S ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTIES.

"Bottom line, get over it. Get over this hybrid fixation. Drive the car you desire. Whether it's new or old, drive it and enjoy it. Enjoy driving. Pay for the gas."
UNTILL ALL OF THE GAS IS GONE THEN WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO??? GREAT WRITE UP I CAN TELL YOU ARE REALLY SMART AND DID A HOLE LOT OF RESEACH. SO HAVE FUN RAISING THE DEMAND FOR GAS, THUS RAISING THE PRICE.

FIRST OFF YOU ARE AS SMART AS MY DOG. LET ME EXPLAIN
"Driving a hybrid sucks. A real hybrid, like a Prius, or a Civic. Please don't lump those fake hybrids into this rant. And by fake hybrids, I mean those leather-laden Lexuses"
A HONDA CIVIC IS NOT A REAL HYBRID IT IS A MILD HYBRID AND YES THOSE "LEATHER-LADEN LEXUSES" ARE REAL FULL HYBRIDS. OHH AND BY THE WAY YOU CAN GET A PRIUS FULLY LOADED WITH LEATHER, NAVIGATION, BLUETOOTH AND SO ON.

"I know, they're good on gas and gas is expensive. Hey, jughead, anything worth having is expensive."
GAS IS A LIMITED RESORCE IT WILL KEEP GOING UP UNTIL ITS GONE AND WE FALL IN TO COMPLETE ECONOMIC TURMOIL, UNLESS WE DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT LIKE START DRIVING HYBRIDS.

"Too bad popularity is not a measure of good."
IF IT IS POPULAR IT IS ALWAYS GOOD, IT MIGHT NOT BE GOOD FOR YOU BUT IT IS GOOD FOR THE MAJORITY.

"And if that car is a hybrid it takes even more factories and even more trucks because the car is now that much more complex. There's an electric motor, batteries, etc."
MORE PEOPLE EMPLOYED LAST TIME I CHECKED THAT WAS A GOOD THING???

"shut down all those dirty factories that build all those new cars. And if we do that, we can stop all the trucks and the ships that transport all those new cars to those new car dealers. And then all those new car dealers can turn off their lights and the employees can stop driving their cars to work."
THAT IS A GREAT PLAN, I'M SURPRISED YOU AREN'T ON BUSH'S ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTIES.

"Bottom line, get over it. Get over this hybrid fixation. Drive the car you desire. Whether it's new or old, drive it and enjoy it. Enjoy driving. Pay for the gas."
UNTILL ALL OF THE GAS IS GONE THEN WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO??? GREAT WRITE UP I CAN TELL YOU ARE REALLY SMART AND DID A HOLE LOT OF RESEACH. SO HAVE FUN RAISING THE DEMAND FOR GAS, THUS RAISING THE PRICE.

What a completely asinine assessment. How about people drive the car they want without being derided by people based purely on subjective assessments like "how fun it is to drive." This is America the last time I checked, not some fascist or communist state, where dictates are handed down from on high by the learned leaders who dictate what the masses should and shouldn't have.

I have owned practically every kind of car you can imagine from Infiniti and Lexus to Jeep, Chevrolet, Ford, Mercury, BMW and Toyota. I have owned gas guzzlers and hybrids and I have loved every single one of those cars, some are utilitarian and others were little more than speed demons.

People on this forum talk about how complicated and problematic it is to make a hybrid vehicle. What nonsense. The first gas-electric hybrids were on the road over a century ago and much of the technology in modern hybrids is decades old

You'll spend "all your gas savings on battery repair," based on what is such a statement being made. Certainly not based on fact...While some cynics say that people only drive hybrids so they can flaunt the fact they they are "green" maybe they just want America to be less dependent on oil tyrants in the Mid-East and Venezuela. Or maybe they are green, or maybe they like being different. Who cares?

I believe everyone has the right to enjoy their driving experience.

Unfortunately, now that we import 70% of our oil, we have must soldiers in the Middle East to protect our oil assets.

I would ask the mechanic if it would still be "fun to drive his car" if "his own brother were killed" in the Middle East, protecting our oil assets.

It's funny how losing a loved one in the Middle East can change your perspective........

I agree. Drive the car you desire, and drive what you love.

As for me, I love my Civic Hybrid.

Grow up, Mechanic. There are better, more mature ways of expressing your main point.

I would like to bring some reason to this already too long thread. I'm not for or against the idea of Hybrids. I'm against poorly executed atempts to build "green" vehicles. Please everyone, unless you are blind you know the Prius is very ugly and undesirable. Perhaps it is a symptom of Toyota's attitude to design cars with as much want factor as a washer or toaster. But I'm holding out for someone to get it right one day; the perfect blend of fun and green. For now however just stay out of the left lane and out of my way if you want to drive a hybrid.

Why does a hybrid car have to be so ugly?

The Prius is a designing joke, it shouts "HYBRID!" loud enough the poor little monkeys in the African jungle can hear it.

Why can't companies make cars that look just like every other normal car, but have it be a hybrid? Why make it an appliance that is no fun to drive and has no appeal?

I'm not talking about taking an already existing vehicle and blending it with hybrid technology, I mean designing a vehicle that is appealing, somewhat fast, and enjoyable to drive-and make it a hybrid.

If they did this, I would have NO problem driving it.

I just refuse to drive something as appalling as a Prius.

I would love to do an interview with you on my radio show. How can I get in touch with you?

Thanks!