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2009 Toyota Prius

#61
jrthebassguy said:
It exists, but it's hella expensive. Introducing the Tesla Roadster, running purely off of electricity:


tesla-roadster.jpg




It'll set you back a nice $100k though.
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Heh... I bought my '91 Honda Civic for $1500.
 
#62
guy n. cognito said:
Of course. To many, they are a "prestige" item, to somehow demonstrate that they love mother earth more than the rest of us. Kinda silly, but we can thank Hollyweird for that little fad.
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And for many, SUVs are an ostentatious prestige item which they rarely or never use for its additional capabilities (as opposed to the Prius). We can thank "Hollyweird" for that fad, too--remember when the now-governor of California kicked off the Hummer craze? The difference is that, on average, one saves on fuel while the other slurps it up.
 
#63
GregC said:
And for many, SUVs are an ostentatious prestige item which they rarely or never use for its additional capabilities (as opposed to the Prius). We can thank "Hollyweird" for that fad, too--remember when the now-governor of California kicked off the Hummer craze? The difference is that, on average, one saves on fuel while the other slurps it up.
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I think you might be giving Arnold Schwarzenegger a wee bit too much credit (or blame) for a vehicle's perceived popularity (how many H-1's have you actually seen on the road?).

That vehicle was an instant media darling during our techno-orgasm of the 1991 Gulf War. Following all the free advertising, the truck then went on to dominate off road racing and got some very impressive write ups in the auto magazines.

Mike
 
#65
GregC said:
And for many, SUVs are an ostentatious prestige item which they rarely or never use for its additional capabilities (as opposed to the Prius). We can thank "Hollyweird" for that fad, too--remember when the now-governor of California kicked off the Hummer craze? The difference is that, on average, one saves on fuel while the other slurps it up.
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I don't think the Gubenator kicked off the Hummer craze. You can thank Gulf War I for that......

I guess I'd feel guilty about owning my SUV if I didn't use it's additional capabilities so frequently.....

;)
 
#70
Mark Latimour said:
Hehe, the anti-Prius crowd are like the anti-gun crowd in the "Show your gun" threads. Really annoying. :)
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Now Mark, I've never really been an "anti-" car guy. It's an object that has done me no harm. It does not inspire me to hate it or its owners. Mathmatically, it makes no sense for me to buy one. If it did, or it had a combination of features I found I could not live without, I might consider it.

Mike
 
#73
I believe in the right to drive any darn thing I want as long as I an willing to pay the gas bill. I'll also accelerate hard if I feel like it, because it's FUN.

And we have a 1999 blazer that gets decent gas mileage and has traveled over 130,000 miles as a family car. It holds all four of us plus cargo, serves as reliable transportation for ski trips and softball tournaments, hauls anything we can cram inside it (including all my bass gear and cabs) and does it darn well.

Those who don't think this mid-size class of SUVs makes sense are badly mistaken.

And the things people haven't really discussed about hybrids are:

1) What happens in 10 years when that huge battery pack dies and you want to drive the car another 50,000 miles? It's going to cost you more than the car is worth to replace that battery.

2) What's it going to cost to recycle that battery when it dies? Those are BIG batteries, and they're full of heavy metal. If we really get into producing those things we're going to have a huge disposal problem.
 
#75
Pilgrim said:
I believe in the right to drive any darn thing I want as long as I an willing to pay the gas bill. I'll also accelerate hard if I feel like it, because it's FUN.
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If was gasoline was non-polluting and inifinte supply, I'd agree. Unfortunately gasoline is polluting and is in limited supply.
Pilgrim said:
1) What happens in 10 years when that huge battery pack dies and you want to drive the car another 50,000 miles? It's going to cost you more than the car is worth to replace that battery.
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What happens on any car when it's 10 years old and you have to replace the transmission or engine or other component?
Pilgrim said:
2) What's it going to cost to recycle that battery when it dies? Those are BIG batteries, and they're full of heavy metal. If we really get into producing those things we're going to have a huge disposal problem.
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Recycling NiMH batteries and Li-Ion batteries (and lead-acide batteries from current cars and boating equipment) is relatively easy. Cars of all types are a model of recycling and reuse.
 

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